The Forgotten One
by Beneath.The.Full.Moon
Summary: Elise Blanchett has always tried to keep her identity as a witch from the people she cared about, namely her cousin Stiles. That becomes a lot more complicated when the past comes back to haunt Beacon Hills. Coupled with Scott's new werewolf status, she will have to find a way to protect her loved ones and fulfill her destiny.
1. Chapter 1

_PROLOGUE_

Beep. Beep. Beep. Waking up felt like being buried alive in reverse, gradually a suffocating weight was being lifted off of me. Beep. Beep. Beep. I moved my fingers, curling them into a loose fist and then relaxing them again at my side. Beep. Beep. Beep. My throat seemed dry so I swallowed heavily and slowly coaxed my eyelids open to stare at the white ceiling. Beep. Beep. Beep. I'd had just about enough of that sound, it was worse than an alarm clock. I turned, searching for the source, it was one of the machines I was hooked up to. Beep. Beep. Beep. I reached over, surprising myself with the sudden movement, and unplugged the infernal device. The room descended into merciful silence.

I eased myself up and slowly swung one leg over the edge of the bed and then the other. I still felt somewhat heavy, as though my body had been filled with sand. Every movement seemed to be met with a sort of resistance, like wading through deep water. It was dark outside, night, and thunder sounded in the distance. I glanced toward the closed door but there didn't seem to be any activity out in the hallway. I slid off the bed, my bare feet meeting the cold linoleum floor. I stood there for a moment, half expecting my body to fail, but it didn't. There was a bag on the table under the window that looked promising so I moved toward it. My steps were hesitant at first, I had to test and make sure that I wasn't going to topple over.

I was starting to feel a little more stable by the time I reached the table. I glanced back at the door again before unzipping it. I found some of my clothes there, a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and some sneakers. I reached back and untied the hospital gown, I let it fall to the floor and kicked it aside quickly. I was pushing through my remaining sluggishness with a new urgency. Eventually someone would come in, and I didn't want to be here. I didn't want to see their faces, I didn't want to answer their questions or endure their exams. I didn't even really care how long I had been here. The thought of being bombarded by people was far more terrifying, I wasn't ready to pretend to be okay. I wasn't even sure if I could anymore.

I pulled on the jeans and paused at the new scar on my abdomen, the wound had healed. That meant I had likely been here a while. I pulled the t-shirt over my head and looked up, catching my reflection in the window. I looked pale, but I was always pretty pale, mostly I just looked tired. I smoothed down my dark hair, it had grown down to touch my shoulders. I sat back down to tug the sneakers onto my feet and held my breath when I heard someone passing in the hall. As soon as the footsteps faded I was at the door. I listened for a long moment before I was satisfied that the hallway was vacant before I opened the door. The hinges on the door seemed to whine in protest and I winced at the sound. Still no one came, so I stepped out into the hall and hurried for the elevator.

...

 **CHAPTER ONE**

I leaned against the kitchen counter, my cell phone to my ear, waiting for the kettle to boil. I was only half listening as Selena went on about something to do with her ex, I propped the phone to my ear with my shoulder and tore open the packet. I dangled the tea bag into the empty mug, and made a sound of agreement into the phone so Selena wouldn't think I had fallen asleep or hung up. I liked Selena, she was probably the only real friend I had, it was just hard to pretend to be interested in her drama. Though it was really nice to have someone that I could share my secrets with. Secrets I couldn't even tell the people I lived with.

"So, have you heard from Declan?" Selena asked, seeming to be done with her rant.

I sighed, "No, but it's only been a couple of weeks. I'm giving him space."

"Well, I mean you did break up with him," Selena noted thoughtfully, "I guess that's fair. I still don't know why. He's insanely hot."

"I just want to be his friend, that's all," I noted lamely, there was a time when I had been completely enamored with him. However, it had been apparent for a while now that I didn't care about him as strongly as I should. It was better this way.

"Sure, whatever. The main thing is that he's your main contact to the coven, unless you decide to join up yourself." Selena noted, "I'm too young to be able to go to meetings and stuff like he could. So unfortunately I can't stand in."

"I know, and you know I won't join," I twisted the string around my finger absently. The Blanchett witches had never joined covens, we would work with them, but always remained independent. Selena wasn't finished with school yet so she wasn't allowed to join, but they would happily make an exception for me. They had even tried to make a play for me when my mom died six years ago. It was Selena's grandmother that had put her foot down. Eva was known for her Sight, and a well respected elder of the coven. They had tried to claim that she was my godmother and that I should be raised by her. She had insisted that I needed to live with family.

Eva was against me joining the coven, she always told me that there was a reason the Blanchett witches always stayed out. My mother had always trusted her, and I did too. Though I had been keeping a secret from her, from everyone. I had not told anyone about meeting Laura Hale. Talia Hale had been good friends with my mother, and I had met the Hales once or twice in the past. I had run into Laura while out for a run a few weeks ago, and somehow we had recognized each other despite all the time that had passed. We had talked some, and toward the end she had gotten cryptic. She had taken my number and said she wanted to call me in a few days. I hadn't heard from her since. A feeling of dread had hung around me ever since I hadn't gotten her call the next day. Something was wrong, but I couldn't bring myself to ask for help. I didn't know what it all meant yet.

The kettle started to whistle, "I'll see you tomorrow at school," I told Selena, "We can talk more then."

"Okay, good night."

I hung up the phone and turned off the burner, pouring the water into two mugs and plopping a tea bag into each. I turned and stepped into the dining room where my uncle was at the table, looking over some files for work.

"Here, this might help you focus, Sheriff." I smiled and set a mug down by his hand, I only ever called him Sheriff, he pretended not to like it but I knew that he secretly did. Sheriff Stilinski was my uncle by marriage, and he had handled raising two motherless children very well. I did always try to make it easy on him by getting good grades and staying out of trouble. He had enough on his plate with Stiles to worry about.

"Thanks Elise," He looked up and smiled at me and I saw a familiar flicker in his eye. It appeared occasionally when he looked at Stiles or myself and recognized our mothers there. Claudia Stilinski and Madeline Blanchett had only been half sisters, but they had shared a resemblance. I was told often that I looked like my mother, in fact, that was the first thing Laura Hale had said to me.

Upstairs there was a loud thump, as though something heavy had been dropped on the floor. We both angled our eyes towards the ceiling, Sheriff shrugged his shoulders dismissively and turned back to his files. Stiles was clumsy, so to hear banging around upstairs wasn't unusual. The kid was a walking disaster, like a car accident that is horrible but you just can't seem to look away. I sipped on my tea as I went upstairs and I paused at the doorway of Stiles' room.

"What are you doing, loser?" I asked as I entered the room.

He looked up from his computer and pretended to be offended, "Nothing! Getting ready for lacrosse tryouts tomorrow."

"Are you planning to finally get off the bench?" I asked and settled on the edge of his bed, kicking a pair of gym shorts to the side, "Because I'm running out bench related cheers."

"We'll see, I have a theory." He spun around swiftly in his computer chair, "Scott is the problem. He's keeping me in my low social status."

"What's the solution? You can't ditch him, you two definitely have a co-dependence problem." I laughed.

Stiles laughed and shrugged, "Not sure yet. I'm working on it. So, you'll be at practice tomorrow?"

"Have I ever missed a practice?" I rolled my eyes and took another drink from my mug.

He nodded and then was suddenly serious, "What about next year?"

I was a senior this year, which meant that things would change next year, "I won't make it to the practices, but I'll be at all the games. We'll see plenty of each other."

He seemed satisfied, "So you're going to the college around here then?"

"Yeah," I smirked, "Someone has to hang around to keep you two losers out of trouble."

"I am only a loser by association!"

"Yeah, it has nothing to do with your poor hand eye coordination and overuse of sarcasm," I noted sarcastically and stood from the bed, "Get some sleep, one of you better get off the bench tomorrow or I'm going to kick both of your asses."

"You wouldn't dare, you love us." Stiles waved the threat off and turned back to his computer.

I nodded, "Can't imagine why, though." I teased as I went out and into my own room. I set my tea down on the desk and started to get my bag together for school in the morning. When I was satisfied I had everything I sat in the chair by the window to continue the book I had been working on. I heard the phone ring downstairs at one point, but Sheriff picked it up after only ring so I didn't bother to get up. A few minutes later I had footsteps approaching my door and Sheriff was there, he had changed into his uniform and strapped on his gun and badge.

"Elise I have to go in, hopefully it won't be too late."

I nodded, "Okay, be careful."

He nodded and then started back down the hall, I heard him stop at Stiles' room to tell him the same thing before he went downstairs. He had pulled out of the driveway shortly after. About five minutes passed before Stiles was suddenly in my room, so excited he could hardly keep both feet on the ground. I looked at him and I gave a long suffering sigh before sitting my book aside.

"Please tell me you didn't listen to that call."

"That would be a lie," Stiles smiled smugly, "They are calling in everyone. All the guns, all the manpower, all the dogs. Guess why."

I raised an eyebrow, "Just tell me."

"They found a body!" Stiles said triumphantly, "Well, some joggers did, in the woods. They know it was a woman probably in her late twenties. Maybe murdered!"

When Stiles got really excited about something he reminded me of a small poodle, that kind that shake when they get overstimulated, "That's awful."

This seemed to reign him in a bit, "Yeah, it's awful, but I haven't even told you the good part yet."

I crossed my arms impatiently, "What's the good part, Stiles?"

"They didn't find the whole body, they only found half."

I eyed him, "You're not going out."

"What?! Come on Elise! We have a chance to find a body."

"Half of a body."

"Whatever, this town is so boring, come on. We need some excitement." He argued.

I shook my head, "You need to get some sleep before school tomorrow."

He threw his arms up in silent argument before storming down the hall. I bit my lip, a woman in her late twenties. The feeling of dread I'd had ever since not hearing from Laura suddenly intensified. I moved over to my desk and unlocked the top drawer, pulling my mother's old spell book out. Blanchett witches didn't use spells very often, but we could if we needed to. I had already looked through the book over a hundred times, I knew there was little in there that could help me, but I needed to look again.

I thought back to meeting Laura, I had instinctively liked her. She offered a connection to my mom. Laura had told me she wanted to be friends, and I had felt the same. Somehow meeting her seemed right, being her ally and friend seemed right. I hadn't needed to know her more then a few minutes to understand that we were connected somehow. When she hadn't contacted me I had gone looking for her, I went to the Hale house and kept my eyes peeled while on my runs. She never made contact. The thread of the connection I had felt seemed empty now. Now there was a body of a young woman in the woods, I had an idea of who it could be.

My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a crappy jeep starting downstairs, "Dammit, Stiles!"

I slammed the spell book closed irritably, and thought about going after him. No, that would be pointless. I wanted to go out myself and find answers, but tonight was too risky, there would be too many people out. I would have to try and find a way to identify the body some other time. I just hoped Stiles didn't do anything too thoughtless.

...

"I got caught," Stiles told me over my cereal the next morning.

"You mean to say that one clumsy teenager was spotted by one of the many police officers and search dogs in the area?" I replied drily, "I'm all astonishment."

He swallowed his bite of cereal and then stuck his tongue out at me. I eyed him, fairly certain he hadn't been out there alone. I was sure he had at least attempted to enlist Scott in his shenanigans, the fact that the asthmatic one hadn't been found out as well was pretty impressive. I didn't push it though, I had bigger things on my mind. The other half of the body hadn't been found, and from the way the Sheriff had talked about a positive identification was unlikely without the other half.

The entire drive to school I was debating whether or not to tell Selena, perhaps her grandmother had seen something. I finally decided against it, I still wasn't entirely sure that it was Laura. If it wasn't and Laura was still out there somewhere then she probably didn't want me to tell anyone that she was in town. I had the sense that she was trying to keep her presence here a secret, for reasons she hadn't told me in our first meeting. Besides, if Eva had seen something she probably would have also seen that I was somewhat involved and she would have made contact by now. So when I met Selena in the parking lot I didn't bring it up.

"So I heard they found a body in the woods last night," Selena said as we walked to our lockers, "Did you find out anything from your uncle?"

"Not really, I know it was a young woman," I started to work on my combination lock, "They don't know who yet."

"Was she, you know, murdered?" Selena leaned against her locker and looked at me, eager for the gossip.

"I don't know," I shrugged, "Why are you so curious?"

"Because something like this hasn't really happened in Beacon Hills in like..." She stopped herself and quickly turned to open her locker.

"Six years?" I finished for her.

"Yeah," Selena sighed and started sorting through her books, "Your'e right, let's talk about something else."

I nodded in agreement, "Are you going to come to the practice with me after school?"

She crinkled her nose and swept her dark hair off of her shoulder, "Sorry, it's way too boring. I know you go because you love Scott and Stiles, but they don't even play." She inspected the dark purple manicure as if simply talking about lacrosse was boring.

"Well, I'm still going," I replied and caught my reflection in the magnetic mirror I had stuck on the door of my locker.

The very first thing Laura had said was that I looked like my mother, she was right of course. I had the same brown eyes and hair, the same nose, the same mouth, the same everything. Nobody knew who my father was, and there were certainly no clues to be found by looking at me. The only real difference was that my mom had kept her hair long while I kept mine cut above my shoulders and angled. I tucked it behind my ears and closed the locker door, feeling tired.

"I'll see you after class." I told Selena and went to go to my first period, weaving my way through the busy halls.

I couldn't focus on anything else all day, I doodled in the margins of my notebooks during classes. I had to go out and fine answers after the school, I could do my own search of the woods. I went running most days so it wouldn't seem unusual. I was so eager to get out there and search that I almost regretted telling Stiles that I would be the lacrosse practice after school, but then again I would feel bad if I skipped it. I found them in the hall after my last class, standing by the lockers.

"Hey guys," I greeted and followed Scott's gaze to a girl I didn't recognize who was talking to Lydia and Jackson, "Who's that?"

"Her name is Allison Argent, she's new," Stiles answered for a seemingly distracted Scott.

Argent. The name sounded familiar, I filed it in the back of my mind hoping that it would come to me later. "So, have you guys heard about the party this Friday?"

Scott finally glanced up, "Yeah, do you think you'll go?"

I shrugged, "Maybe, but you know I'm not much for parties."

Stiles nodded, "I might go, do some networking... you know."

"By 'networking' do you mean, stare at Lydia like a pathetic puppy?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Exactly."

I laughed, "You boys get to the locker room, one of you is getting off the bench this year. So focus."

I found a spot on the bleachers and settled down, there were others who came to watch practices. Lydia and Allison Argent were there, Lydia having already claimed the new girl as a friend. I shook my head absently and leaned back, I don't know if I would have the patience to be Lydia's friend. It sounded like an exhausting task, it wasn't that I didn't like her. I had a feeling I would like her very much if she would actually be herself. Then again she had also been ignoring Stiles for forever, and I couldn't as easily forgive a slight against him. He may only be my cousin, but he was the closest thing to a brother I was likely to ever have.

I took out my notebook and started doodling in it absently, I was hoping that maybe a this would prompt a vision of some sort. Psychic drawing, just letting your hand move of it's own accord and then you end up with a drawing or message that could offer some hint to something you seek. I glanced up quickly when I saw that Scott was being sent onto the field to play goalie.

I smiled and dropped my pencil onto my lap so that I could cup my hands around my mouth, "McCall!" I cheered and clapped.

At the other end of the bleachers I felt Allison looking at me now, but I just focused on the field. I was still trying to figure out her last name, Argent, I knew it was something important. It felt like something I had heard my mother say, which made me wonder if the Argents had any ties to the coven. That could be promising, to have another acquaintance I could discuss the supernatural with. I could never bring myself to tell Stiles, he would get way too excited. Besides, telling Stiles would mean telling Scott too, and I wasn't up for that.

I had to close my notebook and sit it aside when Scott took the first ball right into his face mask and I grimaced sympathetically. When he caught the next one I was both shocked and extremely pleased. I figured it might not happen again so I stood up and cheered loudly, hoping to keep his confidence up. It turned out I shouldn't have worried, because it just kept happening. I had seen Scott practice here on the field and one on one with Stiles. He had never been that good. I should have been thrilled watching him out there, but there was suddenly a cold feeling in the pit of my stomach. I had seen Stiles and Scott practicing not that long ago, Scott hadn't been anywhere near this level of skill. To his credit he seemed just as surprised by his own performance. I found myself doodling distractedly in the notebook, just drawing huge chains of loops. When practice ended I started to gather my things and opened my notebook to where I had been doodling. I had somehow drawn a wolf. I stared at the drawing for a moment before closing it quickly and shoving it into my bag.

Normally I would have gone straight home and gone about the rest of my day independent from the boys, but today I waited in the parking lot. They came out together and started straight for Stiles' Jeep. I went to meet up with them in front of it.

"Hey! Scott, you were amazing out there, you might get some playing time this season if you keep that up!" I beamed and held up my hand for a high five, which he happily met.

"Thanks, Elise. I guess all that cheering you've done for us on the bench finally paid off."

"If he keeps that up he's going to make first line for sure, and leave me all along on the bench," Stiles nodded, "The look on Jackson's face when he caught that ball... priceless."

"Careful though, Jackson is a tool, but he's an insecure tool. He'll lash out if you threaten his legacy as the best," I noted absently, "So where are you guys going?"

They both suddenly looked uncomfortable and exchanged a look, "We were going to go on a hike."

"A hike?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Stiles responded simply.

Scott was the one that cracked, "I lost my inhaler last night in the woods. We need to find it, those things are pricey."

I rolled my eyes, "Come on, let's take my car. I'll help you look."

They seemed to hesitate but I motioned them on and they both fell in line behind me, "So I guess you weren't alone in the woods last night after all?"

Stiles shrugged innocently, "I didn't want Scott to get into trouble."

"Fair, since I'm sure you basically dragged him out there," I laughed, "You boys shouldn't have done that though."

The conversation quickly went back to lacrosse for the drive out, and continued when we parked and started out through the forest the way they said they had gone the night before. Scott was clearly excited about his success on the field, and I was able to at least appear to be excited for him as well. Yet, the pit in my stomach informed me that things weren't all what they seemed. The conversation was still on the practice when my phone rang. It was Selena, so I moved to walk a little apart from the boys to talk to her.

"Hey, what's up?" I asked, glancing sideways to where Scott and Stiles were rambling on ahead of me.

"So did you hear about the new girl? Allison Argent?" Selena asked quickly, her tone was urgent and a little anxious.

I stepped over the decaying trunk of a fallen tree, "Yes, I saw her, that name sounds familiar."

"Well, it should. The Argents are hunters, werewolf hunters." She replied seriously, "Which is weird because why would they be here? There haven't been werewolves here since the Hales, and they are long gone now."

"That is strange," I chewed on my lip, "I think I remember my mom talking about an Argent."

"That's not all though, grandma says she's been feeling something coming. Something big and bad," Selena sighed, "She wanted me to tell you to be on your guard. She thinks that some of the remaining Hales are coming back. She says that if that's true then they will be involved in something dangerous."

"Why would I need to be warned then?" I heard Stiles saying something about 'lycanthropy' and I jerked my head up to look at them, they appeared to be joking.

"Because, she says that the Hales and Blanchetts have always been bound together in some way. Like destiny or something keeps bringing your families together, for better or for worse."

I had heard that before, Laura had said something like that to me when we met. It had been toward the end of our time together, when she had become more serious cryptic. She had said that Talia had told her that my mom always said our families had entwined destinies. I cast a glance around the trees quickly with a sudden feeling that we weren't entirely alone in the woods today, "Thanks for the call Selena, I'll see you at school."

I hung up and went to join the boys, I needed to find out what had happened to Laura. I had to figure out whey she was here in the first place. She said she was looking for answers, but about what? I had a sudden certainty that Stiles and Scott knew something more about the body then they were letting on.

"Okay guys, so you're both acting weird. As in, weirder than usual," They both looked at me, "What's going on?"

Stiles caved this time, "Scott found the other half of the body last night."

"Yeah, after I dropped my inhaler." Scott confirmed.

I sighed impatiently, "When you find a dead body, or part of a dead body, you need to tell someone."

"Well, I told Stiles."

"Yeah, and we're telling you now." Stiles chimed in helpfully.

"Someone with a badge! Someone like your dad, you know, the Sheriff." I rolled my eyes impatiently.

"We didn't want Scott to get in trouble for being out here last night, that's why we're out here again today. We'll find his inhaler and the body and then call it in, it's all good." Stiles noted defensively, "It's a fool proof plan."

"Yeah, you're a couple of geniuses," I shook my head but moved to continue into the trees, if it was Laura this was the fastest way I would find out, "Let's get this over with then."

They both seemed very relieved as we continued on a short ways then Scott stopped suddenly, looking puzzled, "That's weird, I thought it was right here. The deer came running, I dropped my inhaler and..." He was kneeling down at the base of a tree, picking through the leaves.

"Maybe the killer moved the body," Stiles replied nonchalantly.

"If he did I hope he left my inhaler, those things are like eighty bucks."

I was only been half listening, as soon as I had gotten within a few steps of the tree I had felt my blood turn cold, as though ice water had been injected into my veins. I shivered and knew that I was in the presence of death. Whatever answers there were in these woods I was getting close to them. I wandered a few steps from the boys as they chatted and then there she was. Laura Hale stood in front of me, she met my gaze. Her eyes were the same as before, but there no life in them now. I kept her gaze, hoping she would speak. Then she just started walking directly at me, I expected her to stop but she continued, passing through me as if I weren't even there. I gasped and stumbled back half a step and even though the warmth suddenly returned to my body I still trembled slightly. I spun around abruptly to see where she had gone, though I doubted she was still there. So, while the boys were still oblivious somewhere behind me I was the first person to notice the stranger.

He was dressed all in black and seemed to be only a few years older than us, maybe 23 or 24 years old. I had the same sense of recognition I'd had with Laura, like I knew him. She had talked about her younger brother Derek, he seemed a likely candidate. He was extremely handsome and had those intense eyes. Except his were more closed off then Laura's had been, guarded. I tried to reconcile the person in front of me with the blurry image of a teenager I had conjured up of him from my limited memories. He was staring at me, his expression gave a small spark of recognition. His eyes dropped down to my hands, I hadn't realized that I had balled them into fists so tight that my nails had pierced the skin of my palms. I raised my palms to look at them, feeling for a moment as if they didn't belong to me. When I finally felt the sting of the cuts it helped pull me back into the present. I wiped my palms on my scarf, as if that would do any good and then looked back up at Derek Hale. At this point Stiles noticed him standing there as well and quickly, though not very subtly, got Scott's attention.

Derek Hale moved to close some of the distance between himself and our little group, "What are you doing here?" Nobody responded, "Huh? This is private property?"

Both of the boys looked at me as if I were supposed to pull a decent excuse out of thin air. Granted, normally I would probably be the most competent of the group but I was still shaken, and my eyes had started to scan the trees for Laura again. When it became clear I wasn't going to be of any help Stiles unsuccessfully tried to come up with something, "Uh, sorry. We didn't know."

"We're just, looking for something, but..." Scott trailed off under Derek's piercing gaze, "Forget it."

Derek turned to me now and I shoved my hands into the pockets of my jacket self consciously, and raised my chin defiantly against my earlier weakness, "You know, there are some pretty convincing essays on the existence of Sasquatch. Most of them are armchair anthropologists of sorts, we're more the hands on type." I quipped and I heard Stiles chortle slightly before a glare from Derek silenced him.

He raised an eyebrow and then pulled an inhaler out of his pocket and tossed it to Scott without a word and turned to walk back the way he had come. Well, he was certainly less friendly than Laura, but then again he was probably here looking for her. If it had been Laura's body it would make sense that he would have moved it if he had found it. Laura had talked like she hadn't let Derek in on what she was doing here either, so I was willing to bet he had almost as many questions as I did. Either way his presence seemed to confirm that something big was happening. It also seemed to confirm what I feared, that it was Laura who had been killed. It seemed almost certain, seeing Laura wasn't necessarily an indication. She could have simply been the form my vision took because I was preoccupied with her whereabouts. Though, that didn't seem as likely.

I looked after Derek Hale, I wanted to catch up to him. I wanted to demand answers, but that wasn't an option with Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb present. So I shook off the urge and turned my focus back to them and did my best to continue acting normally. I didn't need these two getting tipped off that I might know something of interest.

"Alright, come on, I gotta get to work," Scott mumbled.

Stiles stopped him suddenly, "Dude! That was Derek Hale, you remember him right? He was only a few years older than us?"

"Remember what?"

"His family! They all burned to death in a fire like ten years ago."

"Six," I corrected automatically and they both turned to look at me, "Remember? They died the same day as my mom."

Stiles deflated a little bit, "Oh, right."

"I wonder what he's doing back," Scott said in an attempt to steer the conversation away from death.

Stiles just shook his head and shrugged to indicate that question was entirely lost on him, "Come on."

I nodded, "Let's go, before the Blair witch comes and puts one of you in a corner."

Stiles glared at me, "Why would you even say that? You know that movie gave me nightmares!"

I laughed and started back toward the car, "Oh I know."

"I didn't sleep for weeks!"

"Want me to dig our old night light out when we get home?" I asked, glancing over my shoulder to where Derek Hale had disappeared into the trees, if I had my directions right he had been heading toward the remains of the Hale house.

I dropped them both back off at the school where Scott could get his bike and Stiles could get his Jeep. I watched them both leave the parking lot while I sat there, lost in thought. I strummed on my steering wheel in frustration before finally deciding, it was time to talk to Eva. Fifteen minutes later I was parked in front of her house and hesitated a few moments longer before I got out. Selena's car wasn't here, and that was a relief. Eva opened the door before I even had a chance to knock.

"Good evening Elise, come in," She greeted kindly and followed her into the kitchen and sat down at a table, politely declining any food or drink.

"Selena delivered your message to me," I told her, she was stirring some sort of soup in a pot on a stove and she nodded calmly at this so I continued, "I knew that the Hales were back. Well, I knew Laura was back. I ran into her a couple of weeks ago, she was supposed to get in touch with the me next day but she never did."

"Do you think that she is the poor woman whose body they found?" Eva asked and rested the spoon precariously on the edge of the pot. She rubbed the knuckles of her left hand, arthritis bothered her sometimes. Even often joked that her joints were becoming a better Seer then she had ever been.

I shrugged, "I'm not sure."

"What do you feel?" She asked her dark eyes sparkled, framed in laugh lines. Apparently this was a teaching moment.

I bit my lip, "I feel like it is her, but I can't know for sure."

Eva nodded, grim again, "In this matter I am also unsure, though if I were to venture a guess I would say that Laura Hale has passed from this world."

"Derek Hale is in town, I saw him today."

"Yes, I sensed that he was coming," She picked up the spoon and resumed stirring again, "He is not the dangerous one. There is another, a dark thing. Powerful and filled with rage."

"You mean another werewolf?"

"I believe so."

"Then it's probably an alpha now, if it killed Laura," I noted grimly, that was problematic.

"Yes, this new alpha has a cold, dark heart. Like any villain it can justify the slaughter that it would commit, and it is motivated by something. Yet it will not stop when it should, killing will always come too easy to it." Eva looked at me, "White witches must always try to save people, but innocent lives have already been taken by this creature. I can assure you that it is beyond saving."

I nodded, "You're saying that I might have to kill it."

"Yes, if you are the one to face it. For which I am very sorry." She sighed and balanced the spoon on the edge of the pot, she rubbed her hands together, "As for Derek, he can still be saved. I see two paths set before him, which one he will choose I cannot say. One path will make him your ally, and lead him away from darkness. While the other will make him your enemy, and he will be lost in the shadow of the alpha. What impression did you get from him?"

"Nothing, it all happened too quickly, but I know he recognized me." I sighed, feeling tired.

She nodded, "He is lost, a tormented soul. Damaged by grief, guilt, and bad decisions. I will have to tell the coven what I have seen, they already know something is amiss." Eva went to take my hand, "You must get an impression of him. They will want to know if you think he is a risk to innocent lives. I will buy you time to form your own opinion on the subject."

"Thank you Eva." I said, though I didn't really feel much better.

...

Scott and his newfound athleticism made first line on the team after an incredible display of abilities on the field. Despite everything else that was going on I couldn't turn a blind eye to the changes going on with him. I hadn't seen him use his inhaler once since before he and Stiles had gone out looking for the body that night. I had a feeling that there was something else the boys weren't telling me. Stiles was acting ten times more squirrelly then usual. I tried to dance around the theory that Scott had been bitten by the new alpha. Just like with Laura, that conclusion made a lot of sense, but I didn't want it to be true. Especially since he was going to the party with the daughter of a family of werewolf hunters, on a full moon. I told myself that there would be any other number of reasons why he was suddenly doing so well on the field. Perhaps he just hadn't needed to use his inhaler in front of me, that was plausible.

On the day of the party I waited for Stiles to leave and then I went into his room, this was something I would never have dreamed of doing before. Then again he had always told me everything in the past, even things he didn't want his dad to find out about. I really only wanted to look at one thing, his browsing history. If something was really going on with Scott then Stiles would be the person most likely to notice. I knew Stiles well enough that if he suspected something he would have researched it, he could be shockingly thorough when it came to something that sparked his interest. I sat down at his desk and opened his computer, it wasn't locked, which somehow made me feel worse. I pulled up his search history and felt my heart drop into my stomach. He had been researching werewolves, he had been researching them a lot.

I exited it out and closed the computer quickly, I needed to get to that party. If Scott really was a werewolf and he started to turn there... I didn't want to think about what that would mean. I paused on my way out, something about the back of the computer chair catching my eye so I knelt down to inspect it. There were slashes in the back of the fabric, clean parallel slashes. I held up my fingers and found that my finger lined up with them very conveniently, as if they had been made by something with claws. Scott had been leaving here earlier when I had gotten back from my run and he had seemed agitated. I sighed and hurried out, so much for my plans of keeping them out of the realm of the supernatural. Stiles just had to go try and find that body.

Stiles was easy enough to spot once I got to the party, I took a drink so that I didn't seem out of place and then looked for Scott. There was no sign of him or his date yet. I didn't mingle but moved around the edges of the party watching and waiting. I made my way outside and wove through the people to keep to the shadows. At some point Scott did arrive, so far he still appeared to very much human. It was nice to see him having a good time, that eased my stress a little bit. I couldn't actually think of when either of the boys had gone on a date, and I felt pang of guilt for not being more excited for him. Maybe Stiles and I both just had an active imagination about this and he was actually the same Scott he had always been. The slashes in the chair, could have been Stiles messing around. I moved around a group of people and bumped into someone in the shadow of the pool house. My untouched drink sloshed out of the plastic cup and onto my hand.

"Sorry," I apologized absently and looked up to find Derek Hale standing in front of me. He hadn't even seemed to notice me until I spoke, he had been staring intently across the pool at something.

I followed the angle that his gaze had been, and found myself staring at Scott, who was dancing with his date. Why would Derek be watching Scott? Perhaps he wasn't, maybe he was watching Allison. She was an Argent after all, but I didn't think she knew anything about her family legacy. I wasn't getting the impression of Derek that he would be out hunting the daughter of a werewolf hunter. He probably wanted to keep his presence here a secret from them for as long as possible. So he had been staring at Scott, which mean that Scott was the reason he was at this party. There could really be only one explanation for that.

My thought process must have played out on my face because when I looked back at him he was watching me carefully. As if he couldn't decide if I was dangerous or not. I looked up at the sky, it was slightly overcast and I couldn't see the full moon yet. I knew it was there, I could feel it. Just like anything from the supernatural world witches draw power from the moon. Full moons gave my power a boost, it was actually somewhat distracting. All night I would feel the hum of magic in my veins, I could feel it building now. A beam of silver moonlight cut through the shadow and touched the exposed skin on my forearm. I felt the light tingling against my skin. If I was beginning to feel the affects then Scott would be too, and it would be quite different for him. I looked at Derek again and then across to where Scott had been. He was gone and Allison was standing there looking puzzled, she paused for a moment before starting into the house.

"Damn!" I sighed and set my drink down before starting out of the party quickly. When I remembered to glance back for Derek he was gone, but that wasn't important. Derek could control himself under the moon's gaze. My priority was Scott. I left the back yard through a gate in the back and hurried around the house that way. By the time I got there Scott and his mom's car were nowhere to be found. I hurried to get into my own car, hunters would be out on the full moon. Even if Scott went home he would definitely end up outside again where he could get killed.

I drove quickly home and hurried up to my room to change, I didn't have time to make any spells to put him to sleep or trap him. I would have to make do with what magic I could muster. Under the full moon that probably wouldn't be a problem, though it would definitely be frustrating. I just had to find him and keep him away from people, hopefully I could knock him back to his senses. Scott was a smart kid, with help he could definitely fight through his instincts.

I changed into all dark clothes and my sneakers before I went back out, I knew that tonight what Sight I had would be heightened. So rather than go to Scott's house I let my instincts be my guide. I parked at the entrance to some trails leading into the forest and got out. I pulled the hood of my jacket up and hurried into the trees. When a feeling of urgency overtook me I started to run. I was no werewolf but I had always been a good runner, I ran a ways and slowed to a stop to get my bearings again. That's when a flash of light to my left caught my attention. I moved to press myself against a tree quickly and gaze in that direction. All of my senses were heightened by the moon and I could make out three men moving through the forest.

One raised a crossbow and fired at something in the distance and a werewolf cried out as an arrow pierced his arm and pinned it to the tree behind him. It was definitely Scott, I could feel it even though he was unrecognizable. There was no denying that he had been bitten, Scott was a werewolf. Which was just the cherry on top of the super dangerous supernatural mystery ice cream sundae I was being served. I pushed that thought aside and focused on getting him out of this situation. Magic flared to life like fire in my veins as I called for it, and at my beckoning the wind suddenly whipped up. The trees creaked as they swayed under its influence and leaves were thrown up in the faces of the hunters as it blew. It was a bit stronger than I should have made it, it was hardly subtle, but I would rather be safe than sorry when saving Scott's life.

As the hunters raised their hands to shield their eyes from debris being blown at them a dark figure shot out of the shadows and tossed one of the hunters aside then vanished again. While the Hunter with the crossbow was looking around for his companion the dark thing tossed the other against a tree. The third drew his gun but Derek had already plucked the arrow from Scott's arm and they were running. I let the wind die and nodded, the pain had shocked Scott back to his senses. I could feel that the danger had passed. I knew I wouldn't be able to catch up with the werewolves anyway so I turned and quickly moved back toward my car. I didn't particularly want to get spotted by the Hunter either, though white witches and werewolf hunters did not have an inherent hostility toward one another. I would rather not deal with that tonight.


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO**

I had been out for a run in the woods when I met Laura Hale. I had known wasn't very far from the Hale house, but I didn't think much of it those days. Then, suddenly, there she'd been. Laura Hale standing on the trail ahead of me. From what I could remember about her mother she took after her. Laura had this effortless beauty about her. Mostly I remembered her eyes, she had a very severe gaze though not at all unfriendly. She stood with her hands in the pockets of her jacket and didn't react very much as I slowed to a stop a few feet away. I knew she was a werewolf, which meant she probably had a reason for making her presence known.

"You look like your mom," She broke the silence.

I gave a half-hearted laugh, "So do you, Laura."

Laura smiled at me then and relaxed her stance, "So, you stuck around this town, that surprises me."

"This is where my only family lives," I paused, suddenly not sure if she had heard, "My mom was in a car crash..."

"I heard," Laura reply grimly, "I'm sorry. My mom always spoke really highly of her."

Then she turned and started walking through the trees and I moved to fall into step beside her. Somehow I knew that she wanted me to follow, "My mom felt the same about Talia. Even though I know we didn't come around very often in the end."

"Hey, I get it, families and what not. Not to mention your witch stuff and our wolf stuff." She joked lightly, "It's hard to make time."

I laughed in agreement, Laura wasn't what I would have expected. I guess I still expected her to be grief stricken from what happened. She did have a haunted quality to her, which was most likely guilt hanging around. I understood that, but she seemed hopeful and alive. "How is your brother, uh, Derek?"

Laura definitely brightened up at that, "He's my little brother, so, a pain in the ass." She quipped before answering more seriously, "I worry about him, he was really... affected by what happened. He can't seem to move on at all."

"I don't remember much about him, to be honest." I looked up and we broke through the trees and before us stood the Hale house. It felt like a dead thing, as if it had once been alive but now all that was left from a decomposing set of bones in the forest. I shivered at the sight of it, I hadn't been this close in years, and I had no desire to get much closer.

Laura looked up at the house with an odd expression, as if she were searching for something in the charred remains. When she spoke again she sounded distant, "He was a good kid, his teenage years were rough but..." She laughed seeming to come back to the present as she spoke, "I always expected Derek to be quite the romantic really. Now he... closes himself off. He tries to act untouchable, tough and angry. I know there's still that kid in there though, I just hope he doesn't lose that completely."

"What do you remember, about the day it happened?" She asked, nodding toward the house.

I had spent years trying to piece that day together, but unfortunately it was limited. All of the doctors said this was normal with the sort of trauma I had gone through, and while I was so young. I honestly didn't even remember why or when we had driven to Beacon Hills, I didn't remember the crash either. Maybe that was better. "Honestly, nothing. I haven't decided if that's a good thing or a bad thing really." I turned back to the house, the windows were dark and eery as if they were watching us, "Why are you here, Laura?"

"I'm looking for something."

"What?"

Laura looked at me, "I heard our moms talking once. Yours was saying that a witch, someone with the Sight had told her that our families had an entwined destiny. Good or bad we would always be connected, she wasn't sure of the reason." Laura seemed to be trying to work something out as she spoke, "I think I can feel that. I don't _really_ know you, but I trust you. I think that we could be friends, allies, like our moms were."

"I can see that," I could feel that too, it was odd how instantly I felt drawn to her.

Laura smiled, "I need to figure some things out, but would it be okay if I called you in a few days? I think there are things we need to discuss."

I had given her my phone number then we had parted ways in the trees, and that is the last time I would see Laura Hale alive.

...

When Selena said she would come watch the lacrosse practice with me I became immediately anxious. I still hadn't told them about Scott, but if she saw him on the field she may realize that something was off. She might remember that he wasn't anywhere near as good at the sport. It turned out that I shouldn't have been worried at all. As soon as we took our seats at the top of the bleachers she immediately pulled out a bottle of nail polish and started fixing the chips in manicure. Selena must have come just to keep me company, and clearly had no interest in paying any attention at all to the practice itself. As long as Scott didn't shift on the field in front of everyone she wouldn't notice anything was amiss.

I had shared everything Eva had told me about the creature and Derek Hale. It was a dilemma I didn't mind having someone to talk over with. In fact, she had been quite helpful. Selena had reached out to members of the coven and found out that Allison's father was Chris Argent, he appeared to be calling the shots and he favored a crossbow. That was useful information, and I was certain that I had heard my mother talk about Chris Argent before. Selena had been less helpful when discussing the matter of Derek.

"So, is he hot?" Selena asked, blowing on her thumb nail to help it dry.

I frowned and glanced at her, the players were all lining up now to get started, "Who?"

"Derek Hale," Selena rolled her eyes, as if this was supposed to be obvious, "I'm picturing him as hot."

"I guess," I was actually pretty certain that he was attractive, but that wasn't exactly an important detail, "Probably less so when he grows claws and mutton chops."

She laughed at this, "The mutton chops aren't very sexy, but I've always wanted to date a werewolf. Seems like it would be exciting."

"Exciting is a word for it I guess," I laughed slightly and cast a glance at my own unpolished nails, suddenly wondering if I should put more effort into them, "Not that I would know."

Selena glanced up at me, "So, no word from Declan?"

"I'm still giving him his space," I started to dig in my bag for a hair tie, it wasn't hot out but the sun was beating down and making it seem much warmer than it actually was.

"He'll probably get over that when Eva tells the coven everything she's seen," Selena noted, "Anyway, have you decided what you're going to do about Derek."

"Well, I know that I'm less concerned with how hot he is and more concerned with the level of his killer instinct." I didn't mention that I had no idea how exactly I was going to gauge that.

"So, have you gleaned anything from him that might hint to that?"

I had been thinking about that quite a bit. He had helped save Scott the other night, and he made sure that Allison had been safe too. He didn't have to do that, and the gesture of keeping an Argent safe was interesting. Although he could have just saved Scott as a way of keeping his own secret. Or to use him for or against the alpha. He may have kept Allison safe to keep from drawing attention from the Argents. I couldn't say any of this without giving Scott's secret away so I just said, "It could honestly go either way, but in my brief interactions with him so far I didn't feel anything terribly hostile."

"So, you don't think he's going to go all murder wolf?" Selena asked curiously.

"I'm not sure, but at the moment I'm leaning towards 'no'." I grimaced when Scott took a hard hit from Jackson that left him in the grass.

I was suddenly alert, if Scott was too agitated from the hit then continuing to play against Jackson could turn very bad very quickly. Selena was still intent on her nails, not paying any attention to the field. I leaned forward, ready to bolt off of the stands at the first sign of trouble. I would have to get Scott off the field if he started to turn, isolate him from any witnesses. He had returned to his human form on the full moon when he had been struck with the arrow, perhaps pain could have that affect. Too bad I didn't have a crossbow handy.

Scott hit Jackson hard this time and fell to his knees next to the injured player. The coach and the other players rushed over to gather around Jackson, who was clutching his shoulder in pain. Stiles was the only one who ran to Scott and after a moment he pulled him to his feet and they started across the field toward the school.

"I think Scott's hurt, I need to go check on him." I told Selena quickly and climbed down the bleachers before she could respond.

I glanced at the group huddled around Jackson as I walked quickly away from the stands. I was trying to get an idea of how badly he had been wounded, fortunately no one else seemed to be in any hurry to go after Scott. Someone standing by to the side of the bleachers caught my eye. Derek hale was standing off to the side and slightly behind the bleachers, only a few feet away from where Selena still perched. Clearly he had come to keep an eye on Scott, but had he been listening to us also? He could easily have heard our conversation clear as day.

I shook my head and just hurried away toward the school, I didn't have time to worry about that right now. If Scott was shifting then someone had to be there to keep him from ripping Stiles to shreds. I pushed through the doors into the quiet hallway and started toward the boys' locker room. That was the only place I could imagine they would go. It was quiet, I couldn't decide if that was a good or bad thing. When I got to the doorway to the locker room I found it ajar with a fire extinguisher discarded in the threshold. I looked inside and saw Stiles and Scott sitting on a bench, both looking unscathed and mercifully human.

"Hey, Scott, are you okay?" I asked and they both looked up almost guiltily.

"Yeah, is Jackson all right?" Scott started to stand.

"I'm not sure, he was hurt. I came to check on you first." I moved to step around the fire extinguisher, eyeing it curiously.

Stiles hurried to pick up the extinguisher and put it back on the wall, "I knocked this over... clumsy."

I raised an eyebrow at the explanation and then turned back to Scott who shrugged, "I just felt sort of light headed. I'm fine now," he insisted.

That seemed to be the only explanation I was going to get. Clearly it had been a close call, whatever had happened in the locker room could easily have turned deadly. On the drive home I worried all the way about whether or not I should tell them about me. At the same time I knew I wouldn't be much help to them. Or at least I wouldn't be the help that Scott really needed. I had no idea how werewolves learned to control the shift, the most I could do would be to knock Scott around with magic when he lost control. I didn't think that would be particularly comforting or helpful to him. I also really wasn't prepared for their reaction, I would either be bombarded with stupid questions or their heads would explode. Neither of those options was particularly appealing.

When I asked Stiles about the upcoming lacrosse game he said that Scott was going to try to get out of playing. That seemed unlikely considering that Jackson's shoulder had been separated at practice. I had a feeling that the coach and several other people were going to try to convince him otherwise. I was, on the other hand, was relieved. That would be one less thing to worry about. Until Scott learned more control he didn't need to be out there playing such an aggressive game. It was just asking for trouble. Though at this point I doubted he needed to go looking for trouble, it seemed to be finding him well enough on its own.

The next day at school we found out about the curfew, though nobody seemed to care either way. I had a feeling it would do very little to prevent people from wandering around at night, courting danger. I spent my lunch period with Selena, discussing everything she had found out about the Argents. There wasn't much to learn, it was mostly just something to occupy ourselves with until bigger problems presented themselves. It didn't help jog my memory about what my mom had said about them. she had mentioned Chris Argent, not to me directly but in a conversation with Eva. She had said he was an honorable man, that he stood by the code. I had learned recently that the code was likely referring to their rules against killing innocent or young werewolves. That was comforting, but I felt like those lines might be blurred if he found out that a werewolf was making out with his daughter.

That night I found that I had the house to myself, the Sheriff was at work and Stiles was probably out with Scott trying to wrap their heads around the whole werewolf thing. So, I spent the night making spells, I had always crafted small protection charms for Stiles and my uncle. They weren't fool proof by any stretch, but they would help keep them safe. With everything going on it was time to revamp those spells and beef them up a bit. I would have liked to have gone to Selena and have her make them, she was much better at hand crafted spells than I was. That might make her suspicious about Scott, however, so I couldn't risk it. I finished tying the last little bag and sighed, this felt a lot less effective then my usual magic. I knew the spells would help, but I was more accustomed to my more tangible power. I had made one for Scott too, but I wasn't sure how I was going to get it into his room. For now I just went and tucked the spells for Stiles and the Sheriff under their beds, tucked between the box spring and the bed frames.

When that was done I went to bed, hoping to have some clarifying vision that would hint at what was to come, or perhaps at what had happened to Laura. When I got up the next morning I learned from Stiles over my oatmeal that he and Scott had stumbled across a body at the Hale house, and that the police were going to investigate today. I kept my face blank during all of this and when he rambled up the stairs I sighed. Of course those idiots had gone out and searched for the body again. I really needed to start keeping better track of Stiles. Then I had to think about the body.

If it was Laura it would explain why Derek had hidden it, I sensed he had a distinct distrust for the police. Then again it could mean that he was actually a killer, which I hadn't sensed, and the possibility made me feel like an idiot. I had to get answers for myself. I had total faith in the Sheriff's department, however they were really only working the problem with less then half the information. For them it would be like looking for a clue of a particular color while they could only see in black and white. Without any knowledge of the supernatural realm they wouldn't make much progress.

After Stiles left to meet up with Scott I decided I needed to go up to the Hale house, if it was Laura I had to know sooner rather than later. I dressed quickly and got in my car to drive to the Hale house, and the sight didn't disappoint. The place was littered with police cars and people in uniform. There was a section of dirt to the side of the house that had been roped off with bright yellow caution tape and a gurney with a black body bag was being hoisted into the back of a coroner's van. I bit my lip and turned off my car engine. I took a deep breath and got out in time to see Derek Hale being led in handcuffs to be placed in the back of a cruiser. I had to hand it to him, he had one hell of a poker face. If werewolfery didn't pan out he had a career playing cards professionally, or modeling in particularly brooding ads for leather jackets.

Of course Stiles and Scott were here, to watch the events they had set in motion with their late night grave digging. Scott was standing by the hood of Stiles' jeep, watching it all seriously. Maybe it was time to tell him everything, and find out what he knew. I doubted it was much, but clearly he had felt the need to go searching for the body. He also clearly didn't trust Derek or else he wouldn't have gone to all this trouble to incriminate him. I was about to go over when Scott's expression suddenly changed. I followed the direction he was looking and saw Stiles getting into the front of the cruiser that Derek Hale was currently locked in.

"Morons..." I rolled my eyes impatiently and then looked down. A fleck of color had caught my eye, near my feet there was a little purple petal. I knelt to pick it up and drew in a sharp breath, wolfsbane. I looked over at the dirt where the body had been recovered and spotted a few more flecks of purple on the ground. For whatever reason Derek had used it to bury the body, which meant that Stiles and Scott had come across it. My guess was that Stiles had been the one to handle it, and I doubted they would have left it for the police to find. What had they done with it? I shook my head in frustration.

I was getting really tired of stumbling up on the messes the boys were leaving. I couldn't imagine a more inept pair, they were like the pointless members of the Mystery Gang. I strode quickly to the police car and glanced around to make sure no one was watching before I opened the drivers side door and got in, closing it behind me. Stiles and Derek both looked at me in surprise, but I didn't care. I was too irritated, this was all too reckless. I had to make sure that Scott didn't get anywhere near that wolfsbane. So far they had been lucky, any slip of that luck and Stiles would be dog chow.

"Stiles, where's the wolfsbane?" I asked simply.

He blinked at me, "Uh..." I could tell he was about to say something snarky and decidedly not helpful so I thumped him on the forehead, "Ow! Did you just thump me?!"

"Yes, and it was extremely satisfying. Now, where's the wolfsbane?" I held up the petal for him to see.

Stiles blinked at it dumbly for a moment and then shook his head as if jumpstarting his brain again "Wait, what do you know about wolfs- Ow!" He jerked back when I thumped him again and rubbed the spot on his forehead, "Stop that!"

"Stiles, you have to keep it away from..." I cut off when the passenger side door opened and the Sheriff pulled Stiles out by the back of his jacket. Then he leaned down and looked at me.

"Out of the car." Sheriff ordered simply.

"Yep." I nodded and got out, closing the door behind me, I moved to join the two of them a little ways away.

"What the hell do you two think you're doing?" He asked simply, the question aimed at both of us.

"I was thumping Stiles on the head." I answered honestly.

"I was just trying to help!" Stiles answered defensively.

"Uh huh," Sheriff sighed, "Okay, well why don't you help me understand exactly how you came across this?"

"We were looking for Scott's inhaler," Stiles started confidently, but I already saw where this was about to backfire.

"Which he dropped when?" the Sheriff asked.

To which Stiles responded as if it were obvious, "The other night."

"The other night when you were out here looking for the first half of the body?"

"Yes!" I was staring at my cousin now, trying to figure out how he didn't realize what was happening. He could be really stupid sometimes.

"The night that you told me you were alone, and Scott was at home?"

"Yes!" Stiles agreed enthusiastically. I rolled my eyes and had the sudden urge to thump him again. I nodded when I saw the realization hit him and he changed his answer, "No... oh! Crap."

The Sheriff was looking pretty satisfied, "So you lied to me."

"That depends on how you define lying," Stiles reasoned and I raised an eyebrow, that was impressively bold.

"Well, I define it as not telling the truth. How do you define it?" The Sheriff countered.

"Reclining your body, in a horizontal position?" Stiles even mimed it and I had a new urge to slap my palm against my forehead. I loved my cousin like a brother, but he was a ridiculous human being.

The Sheriff looked at him for a moment as if coming to a similar conclusion and then turned to me, "Thump him again."

I was all too happy to oblige, "Ow! That hurts, you have abnormally bony fingers."

"Elise, please tell me you didn't have anything to do with all of this." Sheriff asked me tiredly.

I shook my head, "This is all way too half baked for anything I would be involved with."

Sheriff seemed to think about that for a moment, "I believe that, and I'm not sure if that should be make concerned or comforted."

"I would say probably both," Stiles offered, "Like, fifty fifty."

"Get the hell out of here," The Sheriff said simply and Stiles nodded, moving toward his Jeep.

I lingered and then decided just to say it, like pulling off a band aid, "Sheriff, listen, I came here because I might know who the victim is."

"Why would you know that?"

"Because someone that I knew is missing," I sighed and glanced toward the coroners van, "She was female, in her late twenties, the time line matches."

"You're going to have to give me something more than that to go no Elise."

I nodded, "I think it's Laura Hale. Look, just let me see her, if I'm right then it will save you a lot of time trying to identify her. I need to know."

He seemed to think about it but started to shake his head, "I don't think I should."

"Sheriff, don't worry about me. I can handle it, I need to know if it's her. I've been wondering about it ever since I heard about the body being found." I continued quickly he was desperate to know and I needed to convince him before he remembered that he was my guardian, "I've had this horrible feeling ever since I didn't hear from her when she said she would contact me again. Please, let me help you."

He let out a long and tired sigh, "You're just like your mother, and your aunt. Stubborn."

I nodded and watched him think it over for a moment before nodding and he motioned me to follow him to the coroners van, he waved the coroner away and opened the rear hatch. I swallowed but tried to look determined as I stepped up into the van. It smelled of decay, but that was to be expected. I sat down on the little bench next to the gurney and looked at the body bag for a long moment, steeling myself. I was a little alarmed at how it reminded me of a trash bag, and I had to push that though away quickly. I knew I had to be fast, if I gave the Sheriff too much time he might reconsider. He climbed in and sat across from me, he reached up to grip the top of the bag with one hand and the zipper with the other.

He seemed to have a moment of hesitation, "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely," I nodded, putting as much confidence into my voice and expression as I could muster. I watched as he slowly unzipped the top portion, he paused for a moment before he folded the bag open enough for me to see her face.

I leaned forward and saw Laura's green and lifeless eyes staring back at me. I let out the breath I had been holding and nodded, "It's her. It's Laura."

My hands were shaking as I gripped the side of the van to climb down, I heard the bag being zipped up again behind me and it seemed like a very harsh sound. I almost wanted to turn around and ask him to leave it open, not to close her up in that bag. I was cold again, that unnerving internal chill. Stood just outside the window of the cruiser Derek was sitting in, she was blocking him from view. Again she just stared at me, dirt smearing on her ashen skin and leaves clinging to her tangled hair. I saw her for only half a second I blinked and she was gone, I was left staring directly into the very similar eyes of Derek Hale.

The vision hit me like a ton of bricks as stepped down from the van. One moment I was caught in Derek's intense gaze and then the next moment everything went black. I didn't see Laura's death, but I felt it. I felt claws tearing into her flesh, my flesh, it was all the same. I felt the terror, the excruciating pain, and a feeling of utter betrayal and disbelief. I heard a scream, and I wasn't sure if it was Laura or myself.

"Elise? Can you hear me?"

I opened my eyes to see my uncle standing over me where I was laid out in the dirt on my back and I nodded, "Yes, I'm fine."

He helped me up, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I just skipped breakfast," I insisted and started to brush the dirt and leaves off of my jeans.

He didn't seem entirely convinced but he shook his head, "So, you knew the victim?"

"Not very well, our moms were friends. I met her once or twice when I was younger, but I don't remember much about it," I sighed, "We ran into each other a few weeks ago. We talked a little, exchanged stories of our moms. She said she would call me the next day to talk more, but she never did." I glanced back at the van, "Now I know why."

He nodded grimly, "You'll need to come down to the station and give a statement."

"That's fine." I pulled a dead leaf from my hair and let the wind snatch it from my fingertips.

He looked at me and must have decided that I was still too unwell to drive, "Smith! Drive Elise down to the station please."

A young Deputy hurried over, "Yes, sir of course."

"Sheriff, I'm fine, I was just a little light headed." Thanks, Scott, for that excuse.

"You're not driving until you've eaten and I'm convinced you're feeling better, give Deputy Smith your keys."

I raised my hands in surrender and pulled my car keys out of my bag, handing them over the Deputy who seemed all too eager to take on the task, "It will be a pleasure to drive you ma'am. You're a lot prettier than the criminals we usually drive around."

The Deputy took a moment to look mortified about what he had just said and the Sheriff just shook his head and started away. I gave the Deputy an awkward smile hoping to reassure him that he shouldn't be embarrassed. Deputy Smith was always overly accommodating toward me, I chalked it up to wanting to the fact that I was the mayor's niece more than anything. He was also only a few years older. He may have had a little crush, but it was nothing. He walked me to the car and opened the passenger door for me to get in, I thanked him and leaned back in the seat. I could feel the gaze of Derek Hale on me well until we were out of sight. I had no doubt he had heard everything, and likely had some questions that he would expect me to answer.

I gave my statement at the station, leaving out all of the supernatural elements of course. I was done at the station in time to head to the lacrosse game. Clearly Scott had changed his mind about playing, he was certainly on the field when I got there and got a seat next to my uncle. I vaguely wondered if maybe that was why he had been so eager to get Derek arrested. Derek had seen him lose control at practice, he probably had tried to stop Scott from playing the game. I tried to cheer with the crowd, but my mind was elsewhere. I had been preparing myself to find out that the body was Laura since the moment I heard about it, but it was still sobering. It made everything that Eva had said all the more real. Up until the moment I looked into that body bag it had all seemed like a distant problem, something abstract.

My anxiety was about more than Scott as I watched the game play out, he didn't score anything for the first part of the game. He did, however, secure a victory for Beacon Hills. I lost sight of him when everyone came streaming down from the bleachers in a blur of celebratory faces and shouting. My uncle's phone was ringing and he moved to answer it so I hopped down from the bleachers and went to sit next to Stiles on the bench.

"Scott did pretty great." I noted to him.

"Yeah..." He agreed and then looked at me, "What do you know about wolfsbane?"

"What do _you_ know about wolfsbane?" I countered and we stared at each other for a moment before he broke the gaze first. That's when he noticed that the Sheriff seemed less than thrilled about the conversation he was having on the phone.

"Dad, what's wrong?" Stiles stood up and we both went over.

Sheriff hung up and sighed, "Derek Hale has been released from custody."

"What? Why?" Stiles demanded, standing from the bench quickly.

"The autopsy came back and it was determined that the victim, Laura Hale, was killed by some sort of animal." He met my eyes when he said her name, "Derek's not an animal the last time we checked."

"Laura... Hale?" Stiles seemed to be trying to wrap his brain around that connection.

"Yeah, Stiles, the victim was Derek's sister." The Sheriff noted grimly, "You two go celebrate winning the game. Try not to worry too much."

Stiles nodded absently and turned to go to the school quickly. I just went back to my car, I wasn't in a very celebratory mood. I sat in my car for a few minutes trying to decide what to do. I needed to talk to Derek at some point, I needed to figure out what to do about Stiles and Scott, I needed to figure out what do to do about the Argents, and I needed to figure out what to do about the big bad alpha that was out there somewhere. So far it hadn't killed again, but I couldn't hope for that to continue for much longer. I had developed quite the laundry list of daunting tasks. I had gotten out of telling Scott and Stiles about me for now, but I would have to eventually. Honestly, part of the reason I didn't want to tell them was because I didn't want to face the fact that I knew little more than they did about what was going on. I need to get my own mind around some things before I had to face their questions. I needed to talk at least some of these problems over with someone, so I started my car and drove toward Eva's.

...

"I think the alpha has killed again," I closed my locker quickly.

Selena lowered her voice and glanced at the students milling around us, "What do you mean?"

"Last night, I dreamed it, sort of." I shuddered at the memory, "I could feel its claws tearing into flesh. My flesh, but not me, someone else."

"Right..." Selena shook her head seriously, "No idea who?"

"Not a clue."

Selena was about to say something else when the principal spoke out over the loud speaker to make an announcement. Something about an incident on one of the buses. Selena and I exchanged a meaningful look and then hurried down the hall to the closest window that would afford us a glimpse at where the buses were parked. We pressed up to the glass and peered out, the emergency exit door at the rear of one of the buses had been pried open. It was warped and dented beyond any hope of repair. Inside the bus we could see blood, slashed seats, and even where a seat had been pried up from the floor.

"The alpha?" Selena asked in a low voice.

"Definitely," I breathed and then thought about Scott, as much as I didn't want to believe that Scott would be capable of something like that. He had been bitten by the alpha, I knew from my research that he could be called out against his will. My instincts told me that he hadn't killed anyone, I just hoped that was the Sight and not my own personal bias to think Scott incapable of something like that.

Selena was the one who found out that they found the victim alive, he had been a bus driver. We pulled up the news story on her phone at lunch, I didn't recognize him. I guess I had never ridden on his bus. It was just a relief that he hadn't been killed, but I was wondering if this was a random attack or something more targeted. As horrible as it was, I hadn't been left with many clues to follow. This might give me a chance to get closer to what was going on around here. What was motivating the alpha? If this wasn't a random attack then this latest victim could be the key.

"Do you think Derek had anything to do with this?" Selena asked.

I shook my head, "I don't think so. I think he's hunting the alpha too, I mean, the alpha killed his sister."

"True." Selena nodded, "Unless it was Derek that killed his sister to become the alpha. Grandma did say that he was tormented."

"No, I can't be sure, but I think he's still a beta." I untwisted the cap off of my juice.

Selena shook her head, "Maybe the Argents know something."

"I doubt it, if they did they would have made a move by now," I took a drink.

"Good point, have you remembered what your mom said about the Argents?" She was still looking over the story on her phone as she spoke.

I nodded, "Yeah, I remembered my mom saying that Chris Argent followed the code."

"Meaning their code against not killing werewolves that are too young or innocent." Selena tapped her nails on the table absently as she thought, "Well, that's good. I guess. He's a possible ally."

I shrugged helplessly, "Has your grandma heard anymore about the coven setting up a meeting?"

"No, but they want to do it soon, so you're going to have to figure out for sure where you stand on Derek Hale." Selena answered, "You know how they are, they probably won't intervene with the alpha since they don't know who it is. That doesn't mean they won't decide to do something about Derek if they think he's a risk."

"I know, I know... I'm working on that." I glanced absently to the table where Stiles and Scott were, "I need to try and talk to the victim from last night. That takes priority for now."

Selena nodded and then reached over, gripping my arm, "Be careful. All of this is... getting pretty heavy."

I sighed and nodded, "You're not kidding."

...

"Then he said the words, 'I'm a great bowler' and I almost died of second hand embarrassment." Stiles finished telling me the story of Scott's date plan fiasco.

"I know the feeling," I noted pointedly and he rolled his eyes at me, "So, I take it Scott is a terrible bowler?"

"Yep, it's going to be a train wreck. I'm just sad I won't be there to witness it tonight." Stiles shook his head regretfully.

"Maybe it won't be too bad," I shrugged and then got up, "I have to go. Selena and I made plans to hang out tonight."

"What about the curfew?"

I rolled my eyes at him, "Oh please, you go out and dig up bodies after curfew."

"Excellent point," He agreed and turned back to his computer.

It was chilly out and I wished I had gotten a thicker jacket, but I just got in my car and turned the heat on. Eva had said that the alpha was motivated by something, that seemed like he wouldn't be killing at random. Clearly he had killed Laura so that he could become the alpha, but why would he attack this seemingly random guy? It didn't make sense, there had to be a reason. I just hoped that the victim knew what this reason was, because otherwise I was no closer to figuring out what was going on. That's why I was on my way to the hospital, I wanted to go now when there would be less people around to see me sneak in to talk to him. I frowned when my 'check engine' light came on and the car made a strange groaning sound. The engine sputtered into silence as I pulled off onto the side of the road.

"You have got to be kidding me," I started digging around in my bag for my cell phone, I would call Stiles or the Sheriff and they would come pick me up. My interview with the victim would have to wait. My cell phone wasn't there. I leaned back and tried to think back to the last time I remembered having it, I had plugged it up in my room to charge... and then never gotten it again.

"Super," I sighed, "You're really on top of it, Elise, good job."

I got out and locked my useless car, there was a gas station less than a mile ahead. They would probably have a phone I could use, I shoved my cold hands into my pockets and trudged along. A car passed on the road but didn't notice me or did and decided not to stop. I couldn't really blame them with people being attacked all over town by a mysterious wild animal. As I walked I became significantly more uneasy, and I had a sense that I was being watched. I paused shivered as I glanced around, there weren't many lights around so any number of things could be hiding in the darkness. The cold feeling in my bones wasn't entirely from the chill in the air, it was a warning.

Something in the trees to my right moved in the darkness and I heard the sound of rustling leaves. It sounded like it was something huge moving around in the forest. My body was telling me to run, and I was only too happy to oblige. I turned and broke into a sprint toward the lights in the distance. If I was being followed I couldn't tell, I couldn't hear over the sound of my heart beating wildly. I knew better than to stop or look back, that was the mistake of almost everyone killed in a horror movie ever. The sense of danger was there though, following me, so I had a feeling I was being pursued after all.

Suddenly I burst out of the darkness and into the fluorescent lighting of the gas station. I slowed to a stop as the feeling of danger faded and I turned to look over my should back into the shadows. When I turned back around I was met with an interesting sight. Derek Hale was at the gas pump, standing next to his car and there were two SUVs blocking his path both in front and behind. I came up behind his car and eyed the two men in the SUV closest to me. I recognized them from the forest as hunters, the driver of the other SUV stood in front of Derek's car. He was Chris Argent, Allison's father, and the hunter that had shot Scott with a crossbow.

"Are you okay?" One of the hunters near me asked after getting over the surprise of my abrupt entrance.

I looked up in surprise, "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"You were running," Chris Argent interjected, he was looking at me intently, he recognized me. This meant he had definitely known my mother.

"Well, you know, it's faster than walking," I answered, "I think it should be acceptable to sprint everywhere, much more efficient." I noted lightly and started to move around Derek's car, eyeing the shattered driver's side window.

I could almost feel the hunters behind me tensing as they watched me take note of it, I just looked up and gave a pointed smile, "Oh, I'm sure the rain did it." I frowned thoughtfully, "Probably the same rain that gave me car trouble."

I was such an idiot, I should have expected the Argents to want to question me in some way. There was probably some device on my car, set to kill the engine after a certain distance had been travelled. It would make for a perfect opportunity for the father of one of my fellow students to show up and save the day, while trying to figure out what I knew. I should have expected this from the moment I gave my statement and identified Laura Hale.

Chris Argent decided to ignore the comment about the rain and my car, "You look very familiar, have we met?"

"I believe I go to school with your daughter, but I don't think we've met. I just have one of those faces... my mom's face actually." I noted and then made a decision to cut through all this cryptic nonsense, "I think you did know my mother. Madeline Blanchett?"

"Ah yes, Madeline, I was sorry to hear that she passed," Chris nodded seeming a little surprised at my frankness, "You do bear a striking resemblance."

I let out an impatient breath, "It's cold out, you might as well just ask me whatever you want to know now. Unless you want to give the whole broken down car ruse another go tomorrow?"

He gave me a surprised look and then laughed, "You're more like her than just in appearance," he noted, "Well, you can understand why I would be concerned. You go to school with my daughter and you knew a victim of a violent crime."

"Everything I know is in the police report, which I'm sure you already have a copy of," I moved to kick a piece of glass away from me with the toe of my boot, "Anything I left out is information that I'm sure you can fill in for yourself."

Chris Argent watched me for a moment as if deciding if I was lying or not. He seemed to decide that I wasn't, "Here, let me give you a ride back to your car. I can take a look under the hood and see if I can help. You shouldn't be out by yourself."

"No thanks, I can find my own ride." I smiled, "But I do expect my car will be working when I get back to it."

Chris looked at Derek uneasily and then back at me, but he must have seen that I was determined, "If you're sure."

"I can take care of myself," I assured him and then paused, "My mom once told me that Chris Argent is a man with a code. A man of honor." I let that sink in for a moment, "I guess we'll see, won't we?"

He smiled and then nodded at the other two hunters before going to get back into his car. The others got back into theirs and I moved around to the back of Derek's car to get out of their way as they pulled out of the gas station parking lot. Chris Argent turned his car to go back the way I had come, no doubt to take whatever device off of my car that he had put there earlier. I watched them go and then turned to Derek who had watched the exchange with some interest.

 _He would drive a Camaro_ , I thought to myself and then just held up my thumb like a hitch hiker, "So, are you going my way?"

He raised an eyebrow and just opened the passenger door for me, "I can drive you back to your car."

"That's all right, we can just ride to the hospital together," I noted and moved to get in, pausing at the door, "Maybe I can answer some of those burning questions you have."

Derek closed the door behind me and came around, he brushed some of the glass off of his seat before getting in and starting the car. He pulled out of the gas station parking lot and started toward the hospital and for a few minutes we drove in silence. My earlier confidence was waning, I had felt pretty clever and composed a moment ago. Now that I was here I wasn't sure how to begin, then it occurred to me that we hadn't actually met each other.

"I'm Elise, by the way," I introduced and he nodded curtly without looking away from the road.

"I remember your mom," He said simply, "I thought you were older, that you would have graduated by now."

"I'm nineteen, I spent a little too much time recovering from the accident so I had to repeat a year." I explained, it was an explanation I had given often, "What do you really want to know?"

"You saw Laura before she died."

It wasn't a question but I treated it like one, "Yes, we ran into each other a few weeks ago. We recognized each other, and spoke a little. Nothing really important."

"Did she tell you why she was here?"

"No, she hinted at it, towards the end of our conversation. She said she was looking for something," I shook my head, wishing I had pressed for more information from her when I had the chance, "She said she wanted to talk to me more about something, something important, but she never got in touch with me again."

"Why did she want to talk to you about it?" Derek asked simply, he definitely didn't mince words.

"She said that her mom told her that our families were sort of, bound, that we have a shared destiny." I looked out the window into the darkness, "Laura said she never thought much about it until she found out that our mothers died on the same day. She asked me about that day, but I didn't remember much then."

Derek was silent for a moment, mulling this over, "You remember more now?"

"Yes, bits and pieces have been coming back ever since I ran into Laura," I noted, it still wasn't much, "About a month before the fire my mom bought a loft here and said we were going to move back. She told me that she just felt like we needed to be in Beacon Hills. A week before we were scheduled to actually move she woke me up in the middle of the night and had me pack an overnight bag. She said we had to get to Beacon Hills right away."

I paused, remembering the drowsy trip to the car and the first few hours of driving when I had tried to sleep, "I asked her on the drive why we were in such a hurry. My mom told me that she had to stop something terrible from happening." Derek's fingers tightened on the steering wheel for a moment, "I don't remember much after that, but I know the timeline. We arrived in Beacon Hills that morning, we stopped at the gas station. The very gas station we were just at, actually. We filled the tank and got some snacks and then we got back into the car and drove in the direction of the Hale house. Five minutes later the brakes failed and the car flipped six times into a ditch. Then that night your house burned down with most of your family inside."

Derek nodded slowly, "Then it wasn't a coincidence, the car accident being on the same day as the fire."

"No, I don't think so. I don't think Laura thought so either." I rubbed my hands together, the cold wind coming through his broken window was getting to me.

Derek didn't say anything, he just reached over and turned the heat up, "You were going to see the guy that was attacked to night too."

It wasn't a question but I answered anyway, "Yes, if it wasn't a random attack then maybe he knows why he was targeted."

"So, I take it Scott and Stiles don't know what you are."

"No, not yet anyway. I'll have to tell them eventually, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it." I looked at him, "I'm worried that werewolves _and_ witches might actually cause them to have a full blown mental meltdown."

The corners of his mouth twitched slightly, but he didn't actually smile as he parked the car at the hospital, "Let's hope this guy is in a sharing mood."

Derek paused near a nurses station, "Do you know what room he's in?"

"No... hold on," I closed my eyes and felt for the gentle tugging on my mind to guide me, "Let's try this way."

If Derek was wondering what I was doing he didn't say anything, he just followed me in silence. The key to not getting stopped by someone is to act like you exactly where you're going, so I made sure I walked with purpose down the halls. Several of the staff went past but didn't give us a second look. I stopped at a closed door and glanced at Derek, nodding to indicate that this was it. He went in first and I closed the door behind us before I followed him through a curtain. The man was hooked up to more machines then I remembered from my days in the hospital and appeared to be asleep. He was bandaged and bloodied, but still alive. I couldn't help but shake the feeling that he wasn't going to make it though. I felt death on him. I reached up to touch the man's arm, maybe I could glean something this way, but Derek caught my arm swiftly, but gently. He shook his head, never taking his eyes off the man's face, apparently he could sense something that I couldn't so I dropped my hand without protest.

"Open your eyes," Derek ordered and then more firmly, "Open your eyes." The man's eyelids flickered a moment before they opened and he stared up at the ceiling, "Look at me." Derek demanded and the man lifted his head, the small movement seeming to take quite a bit of effort, to look slowly at Derek, "What do you remember?" Derek asked impatiently.

"Hale..." The man's voice was raspy but clear and there was recognition in his eyes as he looked at Derek.

Derek looked puzzled and he glanced sideways at me before turning back to the man, "How do you know my name?"

"I'm sorry," The man said simply, swallowing heavily. Then he shifted his gaze and focused on me and there was recognition again, except this time it was more like he was looking at a ghost, "I'm so sorry."

Derek looked at me again quickly and I shook my head to indicate I didn't know how he knew us either, "How do you know us?" He asked urgently.

"I'm sorry," The man said in response and then leaned his head back, letting out a trembling breath.

I felt it happening before the machines did and I reached up, gripping Derek's arm quickly, "Derek."

The machines started beeping like crazy, indicating that something was wrong, that death was coming. Derek stood there for half a second more and then nodded, "Let's go."

We hurried out of the room and around the first corner we got to just in time to see Scott's mom go racing into the room, "She won't be able to save him." I said softly and ran a hand through my hair.

Derek nodded slowly and then looked at me, "He knew both of us, did you know him?"

"No, I had never seen him before." I folded my arms across my stomach, wracking my mind to make sure before adding with more certainty, "No."

Derek stared at me for moment as if listening for something and then nodded, "Well, he definitely knew us."

I frowned at him, "Were you just listening to my heart beat? Someone has trust issues," I snorted and glanced back toward the room anxiously, "Death is here for him, I can feel it, can we go? We can't learn anything more tonight."

He nodded and we started down the halls again quickly and went back out to the parking lot, we got back into his car in silence. He started the car but didn't start driving at first, he suddenly hit the steering wheel in frustration. I could understand, we were left with more questions then answers now. How did he know us? This seemed to indicate that this wasn't a random attack, it was all connected to what happened six years ago somehow. Eva said that the alpha had a purpose, could it be the Hale fire? If it was someone who wanted revenge for that then why kill Laura? I shook my head, this trip hadn't been very successful or enlightening. I looked out the window as Derek backed out of the spot and left the parking lot, speeding back toward where my car was on the side of the road.

"Can I trust you?" He demanded suddenly.

I blinked, feeling oddly defensive, "Can I trust _you_?"

Derek let out an exasperated breath, "You said our families are bound together right?"

"Yes, but that can mean many things. Our mothers were friends, but if your mom had been raging psycho-wolf murdering people it would have been a completely different sort of dynamic." I pointed out.

"You think I'm involved with the alpha?" He gave me scathing look.

"No," I shook my head, annoyance starting to fade, "I actually don't. I think you're trying to do right by your sister. I want to as well. I liked Laura, I'm sorry that she's gone and I want justice for her."

He pulled off on the side of the road behind my car, "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that I want us to be allies, Derek," I sighed, "I'm asking you not to make yourself my enemy."

He looked at me for a long moment and then turned back to the windshield, "I'll wait and make sure that your car starts."

It would seem that I was dismissed, "Thank you."

I got out and got into my own car, the engine started up just fine. I glanced in my rearview mirror and watched Derek drive away. I sighed and pulled back onto the road to head home. Tonight had certainly left me with more questions than answers, but I had decided on one thing. When the meeting of the coven was called I would tell them that I believed Derek Hale was worth saving. Sure, he was lost and he had the potential to be dangerous, but I felt something else. There was potential there to be good, potential to be something great. If he could be saved, then I had to give him his chance to take the right path. Besides, I couldn't doom Laura's brother so easily. She had clearly loved him, and worried about him. I think that she really did believe he was more then the surly exterior. I sincerely hoped that he wouldn't prove us wrong.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER THREE**

I pulled into the driveway at home and parked next to Stiles' jeep, it had been a very unproductive afternoon at Eva's. Selena and I had met after school to brainstorm with Eva about possible ways to track or identify the alpha. It had been wildly unsuccessful, magic had its limits, it was hardly the trump card that books and movies made it out to be. I did, however, find out when the coven was holding their meeting. Unfortunately I would have to skip half a day of school in order to make it. It would have to be done, I just hoped that no one thought to call my uncle to find out why I didn't make it to the second half of my classes. I grabbed my bag and got out, glancing around absently, it was nice out in the evening light. Being home helped me feel a little more relaxed, it was somewhat harder for the anxiety to get to me here.

When I walked into the kitchen Stiles was at the refrigerator drinking milk directly from the carton and I made a disgusted sound, "What's wrong with you? Were you raised in a barn?"

He jerked around and shrugged, "We're the only ones that drink it. We already share DNA you know."

I just took the milk from him and put the cap back on before placing it in the fridge, "Use a glass next time, like a civilized human."

"Where've you been?" He rolled his eyes.

"At Selena's doing homework," It was almost true, "I'm surprised you and Scott aren't off doing whatever it is you boys have been getting into these days. Digging up bodies and whatnot."

"Scott is failing his classes so he had to focus." Stiles answered.

"Why don't you help him study?" I asked and then shook my head, "Never mind, there is nothing more distracting than you."

"He's studying with Allison tomorrow after school," Stiles provided, wagging his eyebrows.

I laughed, "Oh, that should be very productive. There may be someone more distracting to Scott then you after all."

"It better be, if he's the only one of us getting action then he better be getting some action," Stiles noted, "Someone around here needs to."

"The two of you are way too close," I teased, "Besides, I get action."

"You don't even date!"

I blinked at him, "Yes I do."

"Oh, really, when?" Stiles crossed his arms smugly, "Because I've never seen you with a guy."

"Why on Earth would I introduce my boyfriends to you?" I laughed, "Think about it Stiles."

"That's hurtful," Stiles noted, but he didn't seem too hurt about it, "But I see your point."

I punched his arm lightly, "But don't worry, you and Scott will always be my favorite, you're my boys."

"It sounds like you co-parent us when you say that," Stiles snorted.

"Bro, that's because it's incredibly accurate," I joked and started upstairs, "Keep your germs out of the milk Stiles!"

"Psh!" Came his reply.

I shook my head and just went into my room, a figure in the corner caught my eye immediately and I spun around, on guard. Derek stood silently next to my open window and just motioned for me to be quiet. I glared at him and closed the door, my room was getting pretty dark now, the sun would be setting soon. I went over and turned the lamp on and then turned on my music so that Stiles wouldn't hear us talking.

"Jesus, Derek." I dropped my bag in my desk chair, "Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

"I need your help," He said simply.

I shrugged out of my jacket and hung it on a hook over the door, "So you break into my room?"

Derek decided to ignore that, "Can you help me track down the alpha?"

"Probably not," I sighed, "I can't use a spell to track someone without knowing who they are. At the very least I need some of their blood to do it without a name or face to picture. So, unless you've learned who this person is or you managed to get a fresh sample of blood then you're out of luck."

He sighed and crossed his arms impatiently, "So you haven't had any visions or anything?"

"Nothing that will help figure out who it is." I shrugged, "You're the seasoned werewolf, don't you have any ideas on how to find the alpha?"

"Maybe," Derek noted thoughtfully and then shook his head, "I know the alpha wants Scott in its pack, but Scott still doesn't trust me."

"You mean to tell me that you haven't won him over with your sparkling personality?" I asked dryly.

He glared, "That's cute. Sarcasm must be a family trait."

"Stronger with every generation," I assured him, "But honestly. On a scale of 1 to 10 how much of an asshole have you been to Scott since you met?"

"I'll remind you it was Scott that got me arrested and outed me to the hunters," Derek noted.

"Not just Scott, Stiles helped get you arrested. It was a joint effort," I reminded him, "And you're going to tell me that you didn't act like a jerk before that?"

"Either way," Derek seemed to be tired of this argument, "I'm going out tonight to try and track the alpha."

"Great," I deadpanned, "What is your plan if you find the alpha?"

He glared at me again so I continued, "Because I guarantee you the alpha will be about as intimidated by you as I am."

"It's getting dark, I should go," Derek ignored my question entirely and turned toward the window.

"Hey, no more lurking around my room okay? It's weird," I told him simply and then grinned, "I mean, what, were you raised by wolves?"

He snorted and just shook his head, "Fine."

Then he was gone out the window and I closed it behind him and turned the lock as loudly as I could. For good measure I also pulled the curtains closed before I settled down to actually do my homework. I decided it was a good thing that he seemed to at least partially trust me, maybe this wouldn't go south after all. I would take whatever progress I could at this point. I spent the rest of the night trying to focus on the issue of the coven meeting first, I could worry about everything else after that was over.

I started awake that night, I wasn't entirely sure what had woken me. I hadn't been dreaming, it was more of a feeling. I rolled over and hit the light on my alarm clock, it was a little after two o'clock in the morning. I sighed and shook my head, whatever it was I would have to figure it out in the morning. I drifted back into a restless sleep, despite everything I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

When I met up with Selena at school the next day she noticed that something was wrong, "You look a little pale, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm not sure what it is, I've been feeling strange all day," I sighed and stacked my books in my locker. I had woken up with a persistent headache and I felt sick, but didn't seem to have any symptoms of illness. My headache was definitely getting worse, no matter how much pain medicine I took.

"When are you leaving for the meeting?"

"When the bell rings for lunch, so, soon," I glanced at the clock at the end of the hall.

Selena nodded and tugged on her braid absently, "Do you know what you're going to say?"

"Not really, I'm just going to say that Derek has good in him. Sure, there is potential for him to be dangerous but I feel like the good outweighs it." I shrugged, "Hopefully I'll be more eloquent and convincing under pressure."

"Well, I mean, they can't argue with that," Selena noted, "He's not guilty of anything, yet. The whole thing about white witches is that we have to save someone if we can, Derek is no exception."

"Yeah, I'll definitely bring that up," I closed my locker when the bell rang and everyone started rushing toward the cafeteria.

Selena straightened from where she had been leaning against the lockers, "Good luck. Don't forget to turn your phone off. They get so fussy when your phone goes off at a gathering." She rolled her eyes, clearly she had been guilty of this before.

I laughed and nodded, "I'll keep that in mind, I'll let you know how it goes."

The coven was a rather expansive network of witches that went beyond just Beacon Hills to include surrounding areas. There was the council within it that made all of the real decisions. They would invite the elders like Eva and some other heavy hitters within the coven, but it would be the council I would have to convince. Typically the coven wasn't much of a threat to anyone, especially not the alpha. White witches have an obligation to try to protect the innocent, but the coven had developed a very strong tradition of minding its own business. For the most part they rarely intervened in anything unless they were directly threatened.

Part of it was self preservation and another part was for the sake of not attracting too much attention, even within the supernatural community. They say that if anything is truly dire then of course they will join the fight for good. They may have even considered actively hunting for the alpha when it was just Laura who was its victim. Now with two victims and the town in a panic it was much too high profile for them to get involved with. However, with Derek it would be different.

The alpha had managed to remain anonymous and yet build a hefty reputation for itself at the same time. Meanwhile Derek was attempting to lay low, he was someone with no connections that they could make disappear quietly if they chose to. Derek was a omega, so they could feel more comfortable eliminating him as a threat. Therefore, I would have to appeal to them that he wasn't a big enough threat to warrant their intervention. They would know what Eva had seen about him, about the two paths he could take. I would have to convince them that he leaned more towards taking the better path.

When I arrived at the meeting location I was feeling pretty anxious about it. The Blanchett witches were respected for being powerful, and they would love to have me join the coven simply to say that I was one of them. Yet I didn't know how much they would respect my opinion in this, or they might try to levy this to get me to warm up to joining. The meeting was in an abandoned building owned by one of the coven members. It was used to larger gatherings like this as well as training sessions to hone the skills of their members.

I was a little surprised to see Declan and another coven member were the ones at the entrance. He straightened from where he was leaning against the wall, drawing up to his full height. He looked about the same, for some reason I felt like he would look different to me now that we weren't a couple. He had the same blond hair and gray eyes as before. He seemed okay, not like he was pining away after me. I figured there was a good chance he had chosen this job, which I hoped was a sign that he was going to start talking to me again. Declan pushed the sleeves of his shirt off, revealing some of the tattoos that spiraled up his arms and he moved to greet me.

"You're cutting it close," He noted and opened the door for me to go inside first.

"I had to cut school for this, what do they expect?" I replied and entered.

Declan left his post and moved to lead me down the hall, "Eva says you're here to vouch for Hale."

"I am," I nodded, "He hasn't hurt anyone so far, there's no need to cast judgement based on the mere possibility that he will."

"So, you don't think he's a risk?"

"I thought the council were the ones who are supposed to interrogate me?" I countered and he rolled his eyes.

Declan opened a door for me, "Good luck."

"Thanks," I gave a tired sigh and started in.

I still felt sick, my headache only growing in intensity, and I still didn't know why that was or what it meant. I just tried to push through that and I summoned up all the confidence I could when I walked toward the circle. It was an assembly of the council, the elders, and the most trusted of the coven members. They had been talking quietly amongst themselves, but fell silent when I entered.

"It's good to see you Elise, it has been a long time since you have attended one of our meetings." The woman directly across from me was the one to greet me, I could tell right away she was the one who held the most power here. Not necessarily magical power either, she could be gifted with very minimal magic but still have managed to put herself in charge. She had that sort of air around her, like she had never met a situation where she hadn't been the boss.

I thought back to my first and only other meeting, it had been about me at the time so I hadn't really participated much "Thank you for having me."

I could feel easily twenty pairs of eyes on me, sizing me up, comparing me to my mother and trying to deduce the extent of my powers. I just made sure to look around the circle and focused on not flinching away when I made eye contact with someone. I had to let them know that I wasn't a frightened little girl anymore. I had to make them believe that they could trust me, I had to demand that trust.

"I see no sense in beating around the bush, as it were," The woman who had spoken continued, "We are here to discuss the matter of Derek Hale. Eva, if you would share with us what you have seen of the boy."

Eva stepped forward, as calm as ever and spoke evenly, "Derek Hale is a lost soul, he has endured much pain and it has left him tormented. As it is now he has committed no crime worthy of punishment, but there is certainly possibility that he will. For now he is lost but soon he will have to make a choice. Two paths lie before him, one will lead him into the influence of the alpha. If he follows this path he will spill innocent blood, he will make himself a monster to mirror that of the alpha he has chosen to follow. This path will spiral him into a darkness that he will not be able to come out of."

They were all murmuring at that, seeming troubled by this, but Eva wasn't done. "Yet, there is another path, and should he take it then he will shun the darkness of the alpha. This path will eventually lead him to be an ally in the fight against darkness, to become a protector of the innocent. Should he choose this path he will be capable of doing much good, and this is the path that will lead him toward his hidden greatness. To take this path would set him up to achieve something many others could not." She fell silent and met my eyes with a reassuring gaze.

"Elise," The other woman turned to me, "You have taken it upon yourself to be an active protector of Beacon Hills. You have had contact with the boy, we will hear from you now. Do you think that he could fall into darkness?"

"Yes, he could," I said, keeping my voice level, "but then so could we all. Let us not make the mistake of falling into the bias of werewolf hunters. We all have a monster inside of us, just because we can see Derek Hale's more clearly does not make our own any less real. I have felt the danger in Derek, I won't lie to you, it is there and very real. I also felt the good, the potential. As white witches we have an obligation to try and save him. Our duty and our code will not afford us the right to passing judgement against him based on one possible outcome. We must give him his chance, and hope that in the end the good will outweigh the bad."

"If we were to leave Derek Hale be and he were to take life, would you be willing to do what needed to be done?" A man in the corner asked suddenly.

"I assure you, if Derek Hale joins the alpha in its slaughter I will not hesitate to do what I must to stop him," I spoke not only the man but still to them all, I needed them to believe that. I would, if I had to, but I really hoped it didn't come to that.

"We will deliberate, thank you," The woman from before nodded in dismissal.

I turned and went back out into the hall where Declan was, "How did it go?"

"I'm not entirely sure, they have really great poker faces." I sat down on a chair, "How long do they usually take to decide on something like this?"

"They can spend two hours debating the simplest of decisions," Declan noted, "Since this involves an actual life... even longer. I would get comfortable, you're in for a long wait."

With that he turned and started back to the entrance of the building, leaving me alone in the hallway to wait it out. I rubbed my temples, fighting the throbbing in my head. This was a side effect of whatever had been bothering me, something happened last night. It didn't feel like an attack, but something was wrong. I shook my head, I had to focus on one thing at a time. I grew bored of sitting there and pulled my homework out of my bag to work on, since I skipped class I might as well use this time to get my school work done.

I had finished all of my homework and actually gotten ahead on my reading and now was resolved to pacing the hall. It was taking hours, I was getting hungry. I had skipped lunch and now it was getting to be around time for dinner. I was hoping that the fact that they were taking all of this time was a good sign, but I couldn't be sure. The door opened and I turned to see Eva there, she motioned silently for me to come back into the room.

I followed her quickly, impatient to find out what they had decided. I was so weary and hungry that I was finding it difficult to care what the decision was so long as it was made at last. I walked back to the circle and they all looked at me with somber eyes. I felt my stomach clench, they must have decided not to listen to me. Surely they wouldn't all be so serious if they had decided to let him live.

"We have come to the conclusion that we leave Derek Hale to find his path," The woman from before broke the silence, "I'm afraid that either way, he is your problem now."

This hadn't been exactly what I was bargaining for, but I guess I didn't have much of a choice at this point. I nodded and that seemed to be all that was required of me, they all moved from their stillness and went to their own conversations again. I took this to mean that I was dismissed and I smiled at Eva as she came to walk me outside. She was silent for most of the walk to my car, seeming deep in thought.

"I think your mother would have been proud," Eva told me at last, "You did what was right, though it has place yet another burden on your shoulders."

"Thank you for walking with me," I nodded and she turned to go back inside.

I sighed and got into my car, starting the engine first and then leaning my forehead against the steering wheel. It was cool and actually felt nice, my head was still throbbing horribly. I took a few deep breaths, one advantage to feeling like total crap was that I didn't really seem to grasp how serious this all was. It seemed I had somehow volunteered to be the protector of Beacon Hills. I hadn't exactly thought of it that way, then again no one else was lining up for the job so... I guess in a sense that was correct.

I straightened and turned on the overhead light, the sky had grown dark while the council had deliberated. I pulled my bag into my lap and started to dig through it for my phone. I had taken Selena's advice and turned it off earlier so I pressed the button and tossed my bag into passenger seat while I waited for my phone to power up again. I was greeted by four missed calls from Stiles, but he hadn't left a single message.

I shook my head and called him back, it rang three times before he answered, "Hey..."

"I'm sorry I had my phone off, is everything okay? You called four times, Stiles, why wouldn't you leave a message?" I asked, putting my seatbelt on.

"Yeah... well. Uh," Stiles answered seeming confused, "I'm not entirely sure - hey!"

There was a strange shuffling sound and then Derek's voice spoke, "I need your help."

"Derek?" I frowned, "What's wrong?"

"I've been shot, a bullet with some form of wolfsbane," He spoke quickly, "We're going to the animal clinic."

"I'll meet you there," I said simply and hung up, he was my problem now. Great.

Well, this explained the strange feeling I'd had all day. Derek had been shot and was being slowly poisoned to death. I wasn't sure how much I would be able to help him, and more I wasn't sure how I was going to manage to explain all of this to Stiles. This was definitely not the way that I had wanted him to find out about my being a witch. Well, it had to happen eventually. Now that I knew why I had been feeling so horrible my headache had started to fade. I felt much better by the time I arrive to the clinic. Stiles' jeep wasn't anywhere to be seen so I assumed I had beat them here.

I got out of the car and went to peek into the clinic door. The business hours were clearly posted on the glass, but that didn't necessarily mean that it was vacant. I cupped my hands around my eyes and peered through the door. I didn't see any sign that Dr Deaton was working late, that was a relief. I didn't need anyone else finding out that I was a witch today. It was already going to be Stiles and Scott, they were a package deal after all. I stepped back from the door and turned to watch for their arrival.

I recognized the racket of the jeep before I saw it, and sure enough it a rounded the corner and jolted to a stop in the parking lot. I raised a hand to shield my eyes from the headlights as I approached the jeep. At my approach the driver's side door opened and Stiles practically fell out of it in his haste.

"El!" He spoke urgently as he recovered his balance, "You know Derek?"

For the moment I chose to disregard the question, and walked past him to open the passenger's side door. What I found definitely wasn't what I was hoping for. Derek looked half dead already, he was paler then a corpse with deep purple circles under his eyes, "You look like hell."

Derek glared at me but it lacked the usual intensity, his eyes were glassy and feverish. He tripped the side of the jeep and got out slowly, placing his feet deliberately as if he wasn't sure if he would be able to support his own weight. I had just argued to keep him alive and here he was, on death's doorstep not even an hour later. I felt a familiar wave of concern as he leaned against the side of the vehicle. It reminded me of when Stiles had broken his arm.

I reached up to find the pulse in his neck, it was ragged. Derek offered his arm to me without a word and pushed his shirt sleeve up to show me the bullet wound. It was dark in the parking lot but I could see enough of the festering wound to know that it was bad. I could also see the infection blossoming out from it through the veins up and down his arm. I knew almost immediately that it was too deep. It had been left to spread for too long, it was beyond my abilities to draw out.

Derek had been watching my expression, "You can't heal it," he concluded weakly.

"I'm not sure, I need to take a look at it in the light," I tried to keep my voice neutral, "Do you have a plan in case I can't?"

"Scott is getting the bullet, I need to know what's in it." Derek straightened and moved to close the door of the jeep.

" _How_ do you know him?" Stiles asked.

I shook my head and brushed the question off, "Let's get inside. Did Scott tell you where to find the key?"

"Yeah," Stiles answered begrudgingly, clearly frustrated with my lack of explanation thus far.

I took Derek's arm to help keep him steady and we followed Stiles around the side of the building. Stiles turned on the light near the side door and went to fetch the key. There were six or seven large bags of dog foot stacked against the wall and Derek collapsed onto it. He leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes as if the short trip from the car had nearly been too much for him. I felt a wave of fear wash over me suddenly, I hadn't saved Laura, I couldn't let him die too. I rubbed my hands together anxiously and was grateful for the distraction when Stiles' phone made a sound to notify him that he had a text message. He pulled it out of his pocket and read the message, his brows drawing together in confusion.

"Does Nordic blue monkshood mean anything to you?" He asked Derek.

"It's a kind of -" I started at the same time Derek said "It's a rare -"

We both stopped and exchanged a looked before I continued, "It's a kind of rare wolfsbane."

Derek sighed wearily, "He has to bring me the bullet."

Stiles glared at both of us but his curiosity got the better of him, "Why?"

"Because I'm gonna die with out it," Derek replied and that seemed to sober Stiles a little bit. As much as he seemed to not like Derek he didn't seem very keen on having him die either. He turned to reply to Scott's message quickly and I offered to help Derek up from his seat.

"Come on, let's go inside and I'll see what I can do." I urged and we went into the building turning on lights as we went and finally ending up in the exam room.

Stiles had sent his message and followed us in silence, "Okay, seriously. What's going on with you two?"

I shrugged out of my jacket and set it on the counter, "So, what happened?" I asked Derek, continuing to ignore the unwanted questions.

Derek leaned back against the counter and offered his arm to me again, "I was out last night, tracking the alpha. I was getting close, he attacked a car. It turned out to be... a hunter. She shot me. I heard her saying that I had less than 48 hours."

"48 hours and you waited until now to tell me?!" I shook my head irritably and rolled the sleeve of his shirt up so I could get a better look at the wound, "I probably could have healed it if you had come to me in the first hour or so!"

He winced lightly at my touch in my frustration I wasn't being very gentle, "I went to the school to find you, but you weren't there." Then he got serious, "So, you can't heal it."

I tucked my hair behind my ears firmly and gripped his arm, keep my touch much softer this time, "I can draw some of the poison out and buy you a little bit of time. Not much, it's advanced far beyond the point where I could heal it."

Stile slammed his palm down on the exam table irritably, "Have I been speaking in Greek this whole time?! I know you can hear me."

I closed my eyes and let out a long breath through my nose before turning to him, "I'm a witch, Stiles."

Stiles snorted dubiously, "Yeah, right, and I'm Godzilla."

"Your best friend is a werewolf but you draw the line at witches?" I raised an eyebrow at him and just turned to Derek's arm.

"Well, I think I would have noticed if you were a witch, we live in the same house." Stiles said simply, "Besides, what does that even mean?"

"It means, that she's a witch, idiot," Derek noted shortly.

I kept my focus on the bullet wound, I had to do something quickly and I could deal with Stiles after. I closed my eyes and felt the tingling in my hands as my magic started to flow through them, seeping into his skin. I sent it out to search for the infection, to separate it from the blood and tissue of his arm. Once I felt I had as good a grip as I could manage I placed my right hand directly over the wound, gripping his wrist with the left to keep his arm steady.

"This will hurt, try not to move too much." I cautioned and he gave a curt nod. I took in a deep breath and started to pull my hand back from the wound, feeling the tug of my magic as it started to be drawn out, dragging the poison with it. Derek tensed in pain but otherwise didn't move or make a sound. I continued and the poison had started to rise from the wound in a black mist mixed with some flecks of his blood. The veins in his arm were bulging under the strain and I imagined it must be excruciating. My hand was starting to shake with the effot, and when I had pulled all I could I snapped my fingers. This ignited a spark that burned through the little cloud of infection, turning it to purple smoke that drifted away into nothingness.

I turned to Derek, wiping sweat from my brow and noted that his eyes seemed a bit clearer now, "You look a little better. That's all I can do. I bought you some time, not much."

"Thank you," Derek nodded and just leaned back against the counter heavily.

"Holy shit," Stiles was staring at the air where the infection had been a moment ago, "Holy _shit._ You're a witch!"

"Your powers of observation are truly astounding," I sighed tiredly.

"Wait, how did you become a witch?"

"Another witch bit me," I joked weakly but at his look I answered honestly, "You don't 'become' a witch, Stiles. You're born with the gift. It's typically passed down from generation to generation."

"So your mom was a witch," Stiles concluded, "Was my mom a witch?"

"Not to my knowledge, if she was her powers weren't strong enough to be noted," I shrugged, "If she had been trained in making spells perhaps they could have become more apparent, but I doubt it."

"A coven? There are more?"

"Loads more," I glanced at the clock on the wall to check the time.

Stiles was thinking this over very carefully, "But they aren't all the same then. If people can be witches and not even know it."

"Yes, the power manifests itself in different ways," I replied as patiently as I could, "Mine is more... well you saw. Whereas Selena can hand craft a spell much better than I can, and Declan has a talent for communing with spirits."

"Selena?!"

"Yes, Stiles, Selena. Don't say anything to her either. I'm trying to keep Scott's... condition, a secret for as long as I can." I told him firmly.

He nodded and raised a hand in a dismissive gesture, "Who's Declan?"

"Another witch," I decided not to get more specific then that at the moment.

Stiles seemed satisfied with that answer and then launched into a line of questions, most of which seemed completely idiotic. He seemed thoroughly disappointed when I told him I hadn't seen any indication of magical abilities from him, but he quickly recovered from that to continue with this stream of inane questions. Mostly they were questions spurred from pop culture references. He seemed convinced that I was actually Sabrina the teenage witch. Stiles was also very unimpressed with the lack of wand or magical staffs. After about half an hour of the questions I noticed that Derek was starting to look worse again. He had definitely tuned out of most of our conversation and was leaning his head back against the cabinets with his eyes closed, his breathing slow and steady.

"Okay, Stiles, I'll answer more questions later," I cut him off quickly between questions, "We need to focus on getting that bullet over here. Have you heard anything from Scott?"

We both knew very well his phone hadn't gone off but he pulled it out of his pocket and checked it dutifully, "No."

"Okay..." I strummed my fingers on the exam table thoughtfully and watched Derek, he was my responsibility now. As if I didn't already have my hands full with Scott and Stiles, I just had to take in a stray. He seemed to feel my gaze because he opened his eyes and met my gaze. I felt the understanding dawn on us both that whatever time I had been able to buy him was running out.

I grabbed my jacket and started to put it back on, "I assume he's at Allison's?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I'm going to go get him," I said simply.

Derek's expression darkened, "Is that such a good idea after the other night?"

"What happened the other night?" Stiles asked, looking lost again.

"Don't worry, I'll play it super cool." I started toward the door, "You boys play nice while I'm gone."

Derek did have a point, I would have to be sure not to set off any alarm bells with the Argents. Chris definitely knew who I was and what that meant. I didn't need the Argents getting suspicious of Scott because of his affiliation with me. I had too many problems already without them finding out that their daughter was dating a werewolf. It was a risk, but I just kept thinking of Laura in that boy bag and I knew it had to be done. I hadn't been able to save Laura but I knew that she would absolutely want me to save her brother. I had to save Derek's life for the second time today, this was turning into quite the job.

I broke several traffic laws on my way to the Argents, paying little mind to stop signs or the posted speed limits. Time wasn't on our side so I had to save all the seconds I could now, I knew I couldn't act too urgent at the Argents. I had to stop outside their front door and compose myself. I didn't need to seem anxious, I needed to be calm and unhurried. Play it cool, cool as a cucumber. I banished the image of having to bury Derek's body out in the forest somewhere if we failed and knocked on the door.

It was likely only a moment, but it felt like a century before a woman with short red hair opened the door, "Hello, can I help you?"

She tried to hide it but I saw it, the flicker of recognition in her eyes, "Um yes, I'm so sorry to intrude. My name is Elise and I'm here looking for Scott McCall, his mom sent me."

"Oh, yes, he's right in here," She seemed to relax at my casual tone.

I followed her into the house and to the left where Scott was sitting with Allison, Chris Argent, and another woman I had never seen before at the table, "Scott, someone is here for you," Mrs. Argent said and moved back to her chair, but not sitting down.

"Elise?" Scott gave me a confused look and cast a glance down at his lap, where I assumed his phone was.

"Your mom said you weren't responding her to her texts so she called me," I told him lightly, "I'm here to drive you home. If we lay down the seats your bike will fit in the back of my car."

"Oh," I could tell he had no idea why I was here but he played along, I could almost see the wheels turning, "Right, sorry."

"Go get your stuff and we can load your bike up," I fought the urge to give him a meaningful look. The kid really needed to work on not acting completely suspicious, subtly was not his strong suit.

Allison stood, "I'll help you get your things from upstairs."

"You can get his backpack for him, Scott should go ahead and get his bike in the car," Chris Argent said firmly in his role as overprotective dad, imagine if he knew Scott was a werewolf. I had to hold back a grin at that, it all seemed like a horrible sitcom.

Allison rolled her eyes and just started up the stairs quickly, I handed Scott the keys as he walked by and went outside to put his bike in my car, "Um, thanks again for dinner." He told the Argents a bit awkwardly before going outside.

"So, how do you know Scott?" Chris asked as soon as Scott was out of earshot, clearly he wasn't in the mood to be cryptic anymore.

"He's best friends with my cousin," I shrugged and tried to seem a little annoyed at having to come pick him up, "Somehow I've become their unpaid babysitter. To answer your next question: no, they don't know about me."

He nodded, seeming satisfied, "Have you heard any more about these _animal_ attacks?"

The woman I had never met before turned in her seat to look at me, she was able to hide it if she did recognize who I was. There was something odd about her though, well not really odd but seeing her seemed to tug at something in the back of my mind. It was almost recognition, almost a memory. However, the more I tried to figure out what it was the more elusive it became.

"Not yet, it's a working progress," I glanced at the door, suddenly uncomfortable standing here with this, "Scott probably needs help figuring out the seats in my car. Thank you for feeding him, you have a lovely home."

I went outside and hastily helped him get the bike in, "Go get your things," I instructed when he was about to ask me a question.

He went back into the house, it took longer then it should. If it turned out he was just killing time with his girlfriend while Derek was dying at the clinic I was going to be extremely pissed off. My anxiety was coming back, so I got in and started the engine of the car. My mind kept wandering back to the other woman that had been there, who was she? Very likely she was the hunter that had shot Derek last night, but why would she seem familiar to me? More importantly, why did he presence make me so uneasy? Those were all queries that would have to wait until later and I pushed them to the back of my mind when Scott finally exited the house.

"Scott!" I snapped my fingers at him impatiently, "Come on, get in. What happened in there?"

Scott just shook his head, looking very satisfied with himself as he got into the car and I pulled swiftly back onto the road. Immediately I broke the speed limit in the neighborhood and I ordered him to put on his seat belt as we drove.

That's when he occurred to him to ask, "Did Stiles send you?"

"Not exactly," I replied vaguely, "I'm sure Stiles will waste no time explaining when we get there. For right now you just need to know that I know about werewolves. I know that you are one and I know that Derek is one. You got the bullet right?"

Scott was looking at me warily and he pulled the bullet out of his pocket, "Yeah, I got it."

"Great."

After that we were silent for the hurried drive to the clinic. I noticed that I no longer felt ill, and my headache was completely gone. It seemed that knowing Derek was in trouble was enough to alleviate my false symptoms. That didn't necessarily mean that Derek was out of woods, he could be dead already for all I knew. Then again I had a feeling I could have sensed that, in addition to the frantic phone calls from Stiles we would have gotten by this point. My anxiety must have been contagious because Scott was clambering out of the car before I was even pulling in the parking spot.

I cut off the engine and had to run to catch up with him. I let him lead the way back to the exam room and in the doorway we both stopped to take in the scene before us. Derek was looking pretty bad again and I could clearly see where the infection had begun to spread again. It had already reclaimed the surface area I had been able to get back and was surging onward, toward his heart.

I could see this very clearly because he had removed his shirt, and despite his state I made a mental note to let Selena know that he definitely wasn't hard on the eyes. I also noticed the tattoo between his shoulder blades. It was three simple black spirals that connected at the center, there was a word for it but I couldn't remember what it was at the moment. I'm sure that the presence of impeccable abs had nothing to do with my memory lapse. The hand saw that Stiles was holding was much more distracting. The blade was resting on Derek's bicep about a inch below a tourniquet had been tied.

"What the hell are you doing?" Scott demanded, rushing forward.

Stiles gave a breathless and relieved laugh and dropped the saw quickly, "Oh, you just prevented a lifetime of nightmares."

"Did you get it?" Derek asked simply and Scott fished the bullet out of his pocket and handed it over.

"What are you gonna do with it?" Stiles asked, eyeing the bullet from the other side of the exam table as if he clearly expected it to be more impressive considering all the work that had gone into getting it.

"I'm gonna..." Derek drew in a deep breath and seemed to be struggling to focus on the task at hand, "I'm gonna..."

"No, don't. No, no, no!" Scott cried as Derek's eyelids fluttered and he swayed. Scott and I both lurched forward to try and catch him as we fell, but the bullet slipped from his fingers. It bounced onto the floor and rolled under a set of shelves and into the drain. Scott shifted his focus and dove after the bullet while I grabbed Derek's arm as he fell, he proved to heavy for me and hit the floor anyway. Though I would like to think I definitely softened his fall. I knelt down next to him to make sure he was still alive. I leaned down to determine that he was still breathing, but he was out cold. I straightened to find that Stiles had joined me on the floor.

"Derek, wake up! Wake up!" Stiles slapped Derek's face slightly and looked up at us in a panic, "What the hell are we gonna do?"

"I don't know!" Scott shouted from where he was sprawled on the floor, "I can't reach it."

"Keep trying to wake him up," I instructed Stiles before going to see if I could help Scott. His progress was being hindered by the metal shelves that were positioned over the drain. The shelves looked heavy enough as it was but they were also currently loaded down with a ton of supplies for the clinic. It would take way too long to move, or make way too big of a mess. I could try to fish the bullet out with magic, but there was a risk with that, since I couldn't see it. I could easily just knock it further down the drain. I took a moment to consider just knocking the shelf over and glanced back to see if Stiles was making any progress.

"He's not waking up!"

"Scott," I knelt down next to him to try and get a better look, "Do you think you could extend your claws?"

"How the hell am I supposed to do that? I've been a werewolf for like, two minutes!" He shook his head and seemed to be trying to stretch his fingers as far as possible.

"All you need is two," I assured him patiently and making an attempt to keep my voice as calm as possible, "Close your eyes and visualize what you want to happen. You can control it, Scott. All you have to do is find that part of you, the wolf part and command it."

This was a simplified version of how my magic worked, I wasn't entirely sure how it would translate to this situation. I didn't really have much other choice at this point. Scott closed his eyes tightly and was making an effort to do what I had told him.

"I think he's dying. I think he's dead!" Stiles panicked and I moved back over to Derek, checking for a pulse.

"He's not dead."

"Just hold on!" Scott replied and then spoke softly to himself, "Come on." He closed his eyes again and went still, clearly focusing on what he had to do. A heavy moment passed, "Oh, I got it! I got it!"

"Do you know what he was going to do?" Stiles asked me quickly and I shook my head, I wasn't nearly familiar enough with werewolf healing techniques. I had a feeling I was going to have to brush up on it in the very near future. Stiles nodded and looked back at Derek, seeming determined, "Please don't kill me for this!"

He pulled back his fist and punched Derek in the face, "Ugh! Ow! God!" He shook his fist in pain and stumbled away from Derek, clutching his aching fist. Either way, it had worked and Derek was conscious again.

"Give me that!" He slurred, eyes focusing on Scott.

Scott handed him the bullet quickly and we both helped to pull the werewolf to his feet quickly. Stiles was still nursing his fist and cursing it softly. Once we had restored Derek to an upright position he bit the end off of the bullet and dumped the contents onto the metal exam table. He produced a lighter from his pocket and attempted to flick it on. It didn't seem to be working. Derek turned to me, as if remembering that I was there.

I was still gripping his arm in case he toppled over again but I understood what he needed, "Just light it on fire?"

He nodded so I lowered my hand over the little pile of werewolf poison and snapped my fingers. A small flame flickered to life from between my thumb and pointer finger and lit the wolfsbane on fire. It sparked and we all took half a step back until the fire faded and all that was left was a bluish smoke rising from the ashes. Derek wasted no time scooping it into his hand but then hesitated, as if bracing himself before applying it to the wound. He groaned in pain before he pushed the ashes in deeper with his finger, crying out as he did.

Derek fell to the floor, writhing in pain, his screams of agony turning into growls as the wound sizzled and emitted more blue smoke. Instinctively I ushered the boys back and stood in front of them. I knew that wolfsbane could have a bad effect on werewolves and I was a little worried that Derek might lose control. Then, as we all watched in horror, the infection began to visibly draw back to the source and the bullet hole healed. We all blinked at the werewolf before I noticed that I had my arm extended up in front of Stiles. It something my mom used to do whenever she had to hit the brakes hard in the car, as if her arm could do more then the seatbelt. I lowered it quickly, a little embarrassed that I had just 'mommed' him. Stiles hadn't even noticed.

"That was _awesome_! Yes!" Stiles noted and pumped his fist triumphantly. I couldn't help a small laugh at his enthusiasm.

Derek was getting up from the ground slowly, but it wasn't the timid movements from before. He looked as healthy as ever, with no trace of the bullet wound or the infection. Despite my own background in the supernatural I wasn't accustomed to seeing someone recover so quickly from something so serious. Or from any sort of injury, really. Then again I had never really been around many werewolves before.

"Are you okay?" Scott asked him once the werewolf was back on his feet.

"Except for the agonizing pain?" Derek snapped.

"I'm guessing the ability to use sarcasm is a good sign of health." Stiles noted drily and I snorted again. Derek straightened and shot a glare at both of us before he reached up to cut the tourniquet loose with a claw.

"Okay, we saved your life," Scott was making an effort to sound intimidating, "Which means you're gonna leave us alone. You got that? And if you don't, I'm gonna go back to Allison's dad and I'm gonna tell him everything."

"You're going to trust them? You think they can help you?" Derek demanded, not seeming very intimidated.

"Why not? They're a lot freaking nicer than you are!" Scott shot back.

I felt really tired again, "I told you that you needed to be less of an asshole."

Derek glared at me again before shifted his gaze back to Scott, "Yeah, I can show you exactly how nice they are."

Scott frowned at him warily, "What do you mean?"

"I think it's time for you to meet Peter," Derek said and went to pull his shirt back on quickly.

It took me a moment to realize what that meant, the name clicked into place and I instantly did not like this idea, "Derek, is that necessary?"

"He's the one that wants to trust them!" He argued with me.

"Neither of you is entirely right, you know." I pointed out.

Scott frowned at me, "Wait, so how do you know each other?"

"Oh, Elise is a witch," Stiles said quickly, his enthusiasm returning, "No, really. A witch."

Scott was looking at me and then seemed to remember the flame I had produced, "Oh!"

"Take us to my car," Derek ordered Stiles simply, clearly Stiles wasn't invited.

"Are you sure about this?" I asked Derek wearily and he gave a curt nod.

"He needs to see for himself."

I sighed, "I'll meet you at the hospital." I raised my hands in surrender, perhaps he was right. Scott needed to understand the dangers of his new condition, but I also didn't want Derek to give him the wrong impression about the Argents. Sure, it was possible that hunters were responsible for the fire, but I doubted that Chris Argent would have been one of them. From what I could tell about him he seemed like a man with honor, like someone that would take the code seriously.

I was feeling pretty weary by the time Derek's car pulled into the parking lot at the hospital. I stood from where I had been leaning against the bumper of my own car and walked to meet Scott and Derek. I guess Derek had made it clear that Stiles wasn't invited along for this particular field trip. I was wondering if he wanted me here, he probably wouldn't when I started to contradict the message he was trying to prove to Scott.

"What are we doing here?" Scott was asking but Derek ignored him and just walked toward the entrance. I followed, letting my mind drift to back when my life was so much simpler. It seemed like only yesterday my biggest worry had been filling out college applications. Then Laura had appeared and everything went to hell.

Derek lead the way through the halls, it was past visiting hours again but nobody tried to stop us. He stopped at a closed door and glanced around before opening it and going inside slowly as if not wanting to wake whoever was inside. I wasn't sure why, from the research I had done in recent days I knew that his uncle wasn't likely to be roused by our entrance. I followed him in second and Scott came in behind me into the dark room, nobody had turned on the lights for him and for some reason that made me sad. Peter Hale was sitting in a wheelchair that was turned toward the window. We could only see his profile, but it was completely void of expression. He stared straight ahead without seeming to see anything at all. Derek stopped and just looked down at him solemnly. Everything I had read about the fire and about it's lone survivor I knew that Peter Hale was catatonic. I had known this, but seeing it was a whole other experience, to see someone alive yet so vacant.

"Who is he?" Scott asked, still seeming confused.

"My uncle. Peter Hale." Derek introduced.

"Is he like you? A werewolf?" Scott asked after a moment and Derek glanced at him before replying.

"He was. Now he's barely even human." Derek let that sink in before he continued, "Six years ago, my sister and I were at school. Our house caught fire. Eleven people were trapped inside. He was the only survivor."

Scott looked at Peter thoughtfully, finally grasping what Derek was trying to tell him, "So what makes you so sure that they set the fire?"

Derek shook his head, "'Cause they're the only ones that knew about us."

"Then they had a reason." Scott said and I grimaced.

"Scott..." I started but Derek cut me off.

"Like what?" He challenged defensively, "You tell me what justifies this." He turned the wheelchair so that we could see Peter's face full on. One half was covered in burn scars, the tissue of his scalp had damaged his tissue so badly that his hair didn't grow in certain patches. When he was turned Peter's head flopped to the side and he didn't respond at all.

"They say they'll only kill an adult and only with absolute proof." Derek continued while Scott took in the burns with shock and horror, "But there were people in my family that were perfectly ordinary in that fire. Not to mention Maddy Blanchett who was killed trying to warn them. This is what they do. And it's what Allison will do."

Scott blinked and looked at me quickly, "That's not necessarily true." I told him gently, "And there's no proof that I've seen that incriminates the Argents in this."

"Who did it then?" Derek snapped, rounding on me.

"Probably hunters, but we can't know which ones," I turned to face him quickly, "They've spent centuries turning themselves into predators. Predators with knives instead of fangs and bullets instead of claws. They are predators in their own right. Sure, some of them are probably cold blooded killers who have taken it too far and justified breaking the code, but to say that they are all that way would be as incorrect as saying that all werewolves are killers."

"They hate us, they hunt us," Derek argued, "They probably killed your mother too, and tried to kill you! Are you seriously going to defend them?"

"Of course they are biased but you're not exactly above that bias yourself," I snapped, "I don't defend whoever did this but I won't let you give Scott the wrong impression either. The world isn't black and white Derek. It's not good and evil, us and them, it's all shades of gray."

Scott had taken a step back when we had rounded on each other and was watching the exchange in silence. I stand at a height slightly above average for a woman, and Derek was probably around six feet tall and still seemed to tower over me. He wasn't as tall as Declan, but he made up for it in muscle and he had his signature glare on full blast. Maybe that might have gotten Scott or Stiles to back down, but it was decidedly ineffective on me. I was mad, mad that he was trying to force his rigid ideas of the world on Scott. So I glared back defiantly, drawing myself up to my full height and I leaned forward to show him I wouldn't cower away. He might be a big bad werewolf but I was a witch, and perfectly capable of holding my own against Derek Hale. A tense moment passed, and it was becoming clear that neither of us was going to back down.

"What are you doing? How did you get in here?" A voice from the doorway cut the argument short.

We all turned to see a nurse standing there, her red hair pulled back into a ponytail. She wore white, not scrubs like the others nurses. I guessed she probably had to care for Peter personally. I realized how this must look and so I relaxed my offensive stance and shifted toward Scott.

"We were just leaving," Derek replied and started out of the room, brushing past us and the nurse on his way to the door.

Scott glanced at Peter again and I took his arm gently, "Come on Scott, I'll drive you home."


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER FOUR**

"Your uncle is going to freak," Selena noted helpfully, for the hundredth time since I had told her about my plan.

I rolled my eyes, "I'm nineteen, so I'm perfectly within my rights. Besides, it's already halfway done." I grimaced as the tattoo needle shifted to a more sensitive area but I made sure to hold still. The last thing I needed was a wonky tattoo.

Selena didn't disapprove of the tattoo, she just didn't understand why I wasn't waiting until I had graduated from school. I had just told her that I was ready for it, it was the same tattoo my mom had, and my grandmother. It was our symbol, the symbol of the Blanchett witches. It was a crescent moon filled in with spell work that was disguised as meaningless decoration. To someone without white magic it would appear just like a normal tattoo, to someone with white magic it would mark me as one of their own. My mother's tattoo had been on her shoulder, and I had always admired it, the way it seemed to glow and twinkle before my eyes as it identified her as a white witch. Mine was going to be a bit bigger and between my shoulder blades. This hurt considerably more since it went over the spine, but I would make due. I felt like I needed it now, with everything going on I needed something to help me feel connected to my mother.

Selena paced the room again, looking at all of the tattoo designs on the wall, "So, you haven't told me how it went when you saw Declan."

I closed my eyes, voice strained with pain as the needle ran over my spine, "Not much to tell."

"Okay..." Selena was never satisfied with my lack of relationship drama, "What about Derek?"

"What about him?"

"How are things going with that? I mean, I know you guys don't see eye to eye on some things." Selena shrugged, "Would you say you're friends?"

"I don't know," I said honestly, "I think he almost trusts me, which is big for him. As for the things we don't agree on we are just avoiding those subjects for now. Mostly he just comes to me for help."

Still, we had reached a certain level of comfort together since our argument at the hospital. We almost had an unspoken agreement to disagree on the Argents, mostly he just came to me to complain about Scott. Apparently Scott was still struggling to trust him, which was true. I knew this because Scott had told me, he seemed to think that Derek was keeping something from him. I couldn't argue that, I had the same feeling sometimes.

"Mmm," Selena shrugged, "Do you think I should get a tattoo?"

"Your mom would kill you," I reminded her and she laughed.

When we left the tattoo parlor a little while later I was satisfied, it had turned out well, despite the bruising of my skin. I wasn't overly worried, my grandmother had added some healing spell work into the design that would help it heal faster. It would probably be completely healed by morning. Which was good because the bandaging overtop of it was starting to itch. We got into Selena's car and started down the road, she was throwing out suggestions of what to do. I just gazed out the window as she spoke, it had rained and everything was still wet and shimmering silver. For the first time in a while I was starting to feel like a normal teenager again. I was out with a friend, I had gotten a rebellious tattoo.

"I'm hungry, I think we should order a pizza or something," She noted, "Maybe rent a movie? You know, do something other than try to figure out how to stop the alpha."

"Sure, a movie would be cool," I agreed and then turned to her, "Nothing with werewolves."

Selena laughed, "Oh come on, not even the hot Derek Hale kind?"

"Definitely not that kind," I snorted.

She just laughed again and turned toward the movie rental place. We were getting close when we saw the flashing lights of emergency vehicles up ahead, "What the hell? Is that the rental place?"

I sat up straighter in my seat and peered through the windshield, people were gathering int he parking lot to try and get a peek at whatever had happened, "I think so."

Selena pulled the car to the side of the road and parked, "You don't think..."

I wasn't listening, I was staring out the window, as we had parked cold had seeped into my bones. Laura was standing on the sidewalk staring at me, she seemed to want to say something. There was something about her now, something that seemed more substantial then before, more aware. I was starting to wonder if she was more then just the form my visions were taking. Laura opened her mouth as if to speak but instead she just turned to look toward the rental place. I followed her gaze and when I looked back she had vanished, leaving no indication she had ever been there.

"It's the alpha," I said confidently and started to get out of the car.

Selena hurried after me, "I felt something, just then, like a chill."

I nodded but didn't explain, I wasn't sure how to explain Laura yet. I needed to try to understand what exactly she was first. I wove my way through the gathered onlookers, people gossiping in morbid excitement. I reached the perimeter the police had set up, yellow caution tape was strung up to keep the civilians from tarnishing the crime scene. The storefront window had been busted, and I could tell by the amount of glass glistening on the parking lot that it had been shattered from the inside. Like a huge creature leaping through it. Through the window I could see a few of the shelves laying on their sides, knocked over. Then it occurred to me that Laura only ever seemed to appear to me when Derek was nearby, almost like she was leading me to him. I started to look around the crowd or the telltale leather jacket.

"Jackson is being an ass," Selena noted suddenly and I tuned in to where he was yelling at the Sheriff.

I rolled my eyes, "That's because he is an ass. Why is Jackson even being interviewed by the Sheriff?"

"Isn't that Lydia's car parked out front?" Selena asked, "There she is in that ambulance. Maybe they were witnesses."

"I can't imagine they saw much, otherwise I doubt the alpha would have left them alive."

Then we both fell silent as the gurney was rolled through the doors of the store. A body clad in a body bag was strapped to it and headed for an empty ambulance. I couldn't see who it was, there was no indication, I didn't see anyone dressed as an employee of the store being interviewed. Perhaps he was the employee? I needed more information, I needed to know who it was and why the alpha would want them dead. My thoughts were interrupted by the feeling that I was being watched. I glanced around at the crowd but nobody was paying attention to me. They were way too focused on the chilling appearance of a dead body. I cast my gaze up towards the roof of the store and saw two figures there. Scott was kneeling down and peering over the edge at the developing crime scene. Derek was standing upright and looking right at me. It seemed like we had a silent affirmation between us that this was another alpha attack.

I sighed and watched the body getting loaded up, they closed the doors on it and I shook my head, "I think we should just go home tonight."

Selena nodded, "Yeah, I'll drop you off at your place."

On the drive home Selena tried to make the conversation normal again, "What about the parent/teacher conferences tomorrow. How do you think those will go?"

"Fine, for me at least. Stiles has good grades, but his behavior isn't the best," I noted, "And Scott is failing a class so he'll have to be there."

"What is he failing?"

"Chemistry, I think," I shrugged, "He's having trouble focusing this year."

Selena pulled into the driveway at my house, "I'll see you at school tomorrow."

I nodded, "Let me know if Eva saw anything about the attack."

I waved good bye as she backed out of the driveway and I just let myself inside quickly. Another alpha attack, and I still felt no closer to figuring out who the alpha was. Surely tomorrow I would be able to at least know who this latest victim was. This victim and the bus driver must be connected somehow, these killings couldn't be random. I changed into some more comfortable clothes and tried to focus on homework until I heard Stiles get home. He clattered up the stairs and was at my door in no time flat.

"Did you see?" He asked urgently and came in.

I closed my notebook and sighed, "Selena and I were at the crime scene for a minute. Do you know who it was?"

"Movie store clerk was the victim," Stiles said, "And Jackson and Lydia are kind of witnesses."

"Do you think either of them saw anything actually useful?" I asked.

Stiles shrugged, "I'm not sure. Hopefully we can find out at school tomorrow. You weren't able to tell anything about it?"

"No, I felt death there, but that was about it," I shrugged, "I'll check in with Selena tomorrow and see what Eva saw, if anything."

"Scott isn't responding to my texts," Stiles said worriedly.

"He's with Derek, they were there," I assured him, "He'll be fine."

"That's debatable. I'm not entirely sure we shouldn't have let Derek die when he was shot," Stiles noted and then frowned at me, "But he's almost nice to you."

"Now _that's_ debatable," I shot back.

"He thanked you, when you tried to heal him the other night," His shook his head in disbelief, "That was almost more shocking than the whole 'you being a witch' thing."

I sighed impatiently, "It's probably just because our moms were close."

"Maybe," Stiles sighed, "Either way, I don't like him."

"Go do your homework," I ordered simply, "Parent/teacher conferences tomorrow."

He scowled but started out and toward his room and I finished my homework for the night. I stayed up late looking through my mom's spell book again, I knew I wouldn't find anything helpful. It was the act of looking that I found the most comforting. I put it away after a while and started to turn off my lamps to go to bed. I went to close the curtains at my window and paused. Derek Hale was standing in the yard staring up at my window, I sighed and nodded that I would come down. Of course, I should have expected this. He had followed my command of not breaking into my room, but he was still finding exceedingly unorthodox ways to get in touch with me.

I pulled on a jacket and my shoes and left the house quietly, Stiles was already in bed and the Sheriff hadn't come back yet. I went out and pulled my jacket tighter around me as I crossed the yard to where he was waiting in the shadow of the trees, "You're so creepy."

He rolled his eyes at me, "Did you sense anything tonight?"

"I felt it happening, but nothing helpful," I sighed, "I'm hoping Jackson or Lydia saw something useful. Not that Jackson is likely to tell anyone anything."

Derek looked thoughtful for a moment, "Scott is worried about school."

"Good, he's failing a class," I noted and this earned me a glare.

"He has bigger things to worry about than Chemistry and his girlfriend." He said simply.

"Oh come on Derek, he's sixteen. Let the kid be in love," I laughed, "He can worry about those things and still take the alpha problem seriously."

"He's distracted," Derek said simply.

"You don't give him enough credit. Sure, Scott has his moments but he's a good kid. He's stronger than you think he is," I pointed out, "I mean, he managed to get enough control to fish that bullet out of the grate the other night."

Derek nodded, "We'll need him if we want to have a chance of taking on the alpha."

"I know," I agreed, I wasn't strong enough to deal with the alpha on my own and I'd likely need more than Derek in my corner. I didn't like it, but Scott was the only other real option, "If we're going to beat the alpha we will need to do it as a... pack." That felt weird to say.

"A pack?" Derek mused, "You're saying hat you'll be a part of my pack?"

" _Your_ pack?" I snorted, "If anyone is the alpha of this little rag tag pack, it's me."

He managed a smile, "Hard to argue with a white witch."

"If that's all for tonight I would like to get to bed," I rolled my eyes, "Oh, and here's my cell phone number. So you can stop acting like a creep." I held out the piece of paper I had written it on.

Derek raised an eyebrow but took it and put it in his pocket, as I started to go back inside, he grabbed my arm quickly, "Are you hurt?"

I blinked at him in surprise, "No, why?"

"I smell blood."

"Oh," I laughed, "I got a tattoo tonight, don't worry. It will be healed up by morning, it has a healing charm worked in."

"A healing charm?" He looked amused.

"What?"

"I'm just thinking about all the pain I had to go through for my tattoo," Derek noted.

I grinned, "Jealous, much?"

By the time I got back to my room and looked out the window he was gone, so I closed the curtains and went to bed. No visions came to me in my sleep, but I was getting used to waking up disappointed in that regard. I didn't mention my meeting with Derek to Stiles, he always got so worked up about Derek. Instead I went to school determined to find out what Jackson and Lydia had seen at the video store. It was decided after we got to school that Stiles would be in charge of trying to talk to one of them. He was the one that had classes with them so it would be easier.

Lydia wasn't even at school, but neither were Scott and Allison. I was annoyed about that, I just hoped he got himself back here in time for the conferences. I knew his mom would not be happy to have to sit through the conferences alone while he was failing a class. I also had bigger problems that needed my attention besides Scott skipping class. I refused to admit that Derek was right though. Scott was mixed up in all this werewolf business now, but he was still a kid and I was determined to let him be one. Though, I figured he would probably be a grounded kid if he didn't make it back for the conferences. That could put a damper on our alpha hunt.

"Have you heard anything from him at all?" I asked Stiles at lunch and he shook his head.

"Nothing," He seemed just as annoyed as I was, "And Jackson hasn't told Danny anything about what happened. Also, I don't think Danny likes me."

"Jackson isn't likely to tell anyone if he doesn't tell Danny," I noted and Stiles nodded, "Danny doesn't not like you, you're just... annoying."

"I'm going to go by Lydia's after school, maybe she'll be more willing to talk," Stiles replied, ignoring my other comment, "Otherwise we don't have much to go on."

I nodded, "Good luck. Keep trying to get in touch with Scott. With the alpha running around I would really rather know where he is."

After school I went home while Stiles went to Lydia's, I tried to do homework but in the end I felt far too restless. I was itching to get out of the house, I felt full of pent up energy. I decided to go for a run, if I was lucky it would trigger a vision or something and at the very least it would get some of my excess energy out. I changed quickly, pausing only to inspect my healed tattoo in the mirror, I liked it. It made me think of mom. It also made me feel like a full blown witch, which was the confidence boost I needed right now. I grabbed my keys and went down to car to drive out to some of the trails I liked to run. I realized when I got there that I had left both my iPod and my phone sitting on top of my dresser, it didn't matter, I didn't always run with music anyway.

The air was crisp but I left my jacket in the car, I knew I wouldn't feel cold for very long. I tried to focus on anything other than my thoughts. My worry and anxiety. I focused on the sound of the leaves crumbling under my sneakers and the sound of my breathing. I let my pace fall in time with the beating of my heart and my mind began to clear. Stiles had tried to come running with me once, he hadn't been able to keep up. He said that I ran like I was running away from something. Maybe I was, I was running away from the problems that I couldn't escape otherwise. I was running away from Scott being a werewolf, I was running away from the alpha, I was running away from the pressure of the coven, and I was running away from Derek Hale and all the trouble that came with him.

Without warning pain flared from my side to the rest of my body, I fell to my knees, fingers digging into the decaying leaves and into the fresh dirt beneath. My body continued to be wracked with it, it felt likes waves of electricity running through my bones. I heaved a breath as it faded away and I opened my eyes slowly. I was alone in the trees, but that hadn't been my pain. That was a warning that someone was in trouble. I panted and rubbed my hands together, brushing the dirt off. I frowned down at where my right hand had been. It seemed that I had drawn a symbol with my fingers in the soil, it was three connected spirals. I had seen that before, it was that tattoo on Derek Hale's back.

I looked around the empty woods quickly, getting my bearings as I pulled myself to my feet again and started to run in the direction of the Hale house. I hadn't been very far and before long I came up the hill at the back of the house and I slowed down, letting myself catch my breath. There was danger here, I could feel it in the air like a fog. I hesitated, the Hale house wasn't a place I wanted to be. Being this close was enough to make me feel very small, weak. I absolutely didn't want to go inside of it. I looked up at the charred house, it's vacant windows staring back me. From inside I heard a loud, angry snarl and several thuds and crashes.

"Derek..." I hurried forward quickly and moved to peer into one of the window pains that wasn't boarded up. I had to reach up to rub some of the dirt from the glass so that I could se more clearly. I was looking into what appeared to have once been a living room, it was littered with ruined furniture that seemed to suggest that. Through the debris I saw the female hunter I had almost recognized at the Argents the other night. I had since found out that her name was Kate Argent and she was Chris' sister. she stood, brandishing some sort of electrified wand. Derek seemed to be recovering from its effects at her feet. He was shirtless, which was becoming a pattern, on the floor. The electric shock would certainly explain the pain I had felt in the woods. I tried to make out what she was saying.

"Wow." She spoke over the sound of his labored breathing, "This one grew up in all the right places." She walked slowly around him as he rolled onto his side, trying to put some distance between them, "I don't know whether to kill it or lick it."

"Gross," I said under my breath and Derek's head tilted slightly, he had heard me, "I got you." I whispered and moved toward the back door. It looked like it was still functioning but I wasn't confident that I could open it without making way too much noise. If I was lucky the hunters had left the front door open for me. I hoped I could get in without losing the element of surprise. Unfortunately my powers didn't do much to stop bullets, and she was definitely armed to the teeth. I hurried around the side of the house, keeping low so she didn't spot me through any gaps in the windows. I climbed carefully onto the porch and moved quietly, testing each board as I went to make sure it wouldn't groan and give me away. I could hear her talking inside, but I didn't much care what she was saying, I needed to focus on getting inside quietly and quickly.

I peered cautiously into the open front door and noted that there was a hunter on the ground, unconscious, right inside the door. I could see a taser gun attached to his belt. I looked through the window at the side of the door, Kate was kneeling in front of Derek, this was my chance to get inside when she was least likely to see me. I moved quickly inside, snatching the taser off of the unconscious man as I moved quietly to the other side of the stairs. I paused and held my breath, listening to make sure I hadn't been seen, when I was satisfied she was still focused on Derek I moved again. I crept around the back of the stairs and moved along the wall of the room they were in.

"What do you think did that? A mountain lion?" She was asking, now on her feet again, I watched through a hole in the wall, waiting for the best moment to strike.

"Why aren't we helping each other out?" Kate asked as she snapped the wand closed, "You might as well admit what you've been guessing all along, which is, the alpha killed your sister. And all you have to do is tell us who he is, and we'll take care of it for you. Problem solved, everybody goes home happy."

There was pause while she gauged Derek's reaction, "Unless, you don't know who he is either." She laughed humorlessly, "Wow. Guess who just became totally useless?"

I didn't have time to wait, she was about to reach for her gun, I moved quickly into the doorway and aimed the taser. I was the niece of the Sheriff, of course I knew how to use it, I hit her in the stomach and she went down as I continued to press the trigger. I dropped it quickly when I was satisfied and moved to grab Derek's arm and help him up.

"Come on!" I hissed as he stumbled to his feet as we ran out of the door. She recovered faster than I would have anticipated because gunfire rang out behind us, no doubt striking the air where we had just been. We jumped off the far end of the porch and continued to sprint into the trees. We ran a ways before Derek started to slow down, for which I was grateful. I was a good runner but didn't exactly have the stamina of a werewolf. He looked back toward the house, seeming lost in thought.

I took in a deep breath, "You okay?"

"Yeah, just some electricity," He dragged his gaze back to me.

"Sure, but are _you_ okay?"

Derek looked at me thoughtfully for a moment and nodded, so I continued, "Okay, well come on. My car is that way. You should probably lay low for a few hours."

He nodded again and moved to follow me in that direction, we weren't running anymore. There was no need, she wouldn't pursue us, probably. We walked in silence, he had a far away look on his face and I decided not to pry. No doubt, Kate Argent had given him quite a bit to think about. I mostly just hoped she hadn't recognized me, then again if she did I doubted she would go to Chris. I had a feeling she had paid the visit to Derek against orders.

Back at my car I opened the back first and pulled out a sweatshirt that Declan had left my car before we had broken up. He hadn't asked for it back since and I had forgotten it was there until I had walked several miles with a very shirtless Derek Hale. I offered it to him wordlessly and he took it before starting around to the passenger side of the car. I got in and pulled my own jacket on, as my body had cooled down over the walk the chill in the air had started to get to me. I turned the car on to get a little warm air circulating.

"Thank you," Derek spoke finally.

"Swooping in to save your ass is becoming quite the commitment," I noted lightly, "She seems psycho, she didn't actually lick you did she? I feel like I should have one of those dolls that you point to and show me where she touched you."

He rolled his eyes but did give a small smile, "I'm fine."

I nodded slowly and then turned to look at him, "It's okay to not be fine, Derek. I mean, it's actually pretty normal. Clearly you're holding on to something, something that is weighing on you. Probably the same thing that keeps you from trusting anyone, ever."

"So I should trust you?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Not necessarily. But since I'm probably just as messed up, if not more, than you are I seem like a pretty good option," I replied, "At least I can try to understand."

"You seem pretty fine to me," Derek noted, "You have something of a family left at least. It's different, what we went through."

"It is," I took a deep breath, maybe the way to gain his trust was to offer up something. Something that made me feel vulnerable and small, like a little girl waking up in the hospital after a deadly car crash, "Do you know what most of my visions are?"

He shook his head, eyeing me curiously, "I know that you seemed like you were in pain after you saw Laura's body."

"Yeah," I turned to face out the windshield and sighed heavily, "Typically I don't see things. I feel things. I felt Laura's death as though the teeth were tearing into my very skin. My mom was the same way, she said it was our magic's way of reminding us who we are protecting. When an innocent person dies sometimes I can feel their death, it's to make it personal for me. I didn't have any visions of the kind until six years ago."

I hadn't told anyone this, not Selena, not Eva, not Declan. No one. "After that crash I spent two weeks mostly unconscious. I'm not sure if it was my mother's powers passing on to me or what but I spent those two weeks in the fire. You know, I could probably walk every inch of your old house blindfolded. That's where I was, burning for two weeks. It felt so real that I would tear my very real stitches out trying to get into the shower and put the fire out. They had to sedate me to keep me from doing that."

My hands were shaking so I clasped them together to make them stop, "The point is, that I take what happened to your family very personally. I think you need to understand that."

Derek watched me for a long moment after that, "Is that how you knew I was in danger just now?"

"Basically," I confirmed and then tried to steer the subject away, "Getting tased really sucks."

He nodded, "Yeah, sorry."

"It's not your fault."

He glanced out the window, "You know, I think I remember you. From before, when we were kids."

"Yeah?"

Derek nodded, "At the house, your mom had come by to visit and you were playing on the porch with my sister Cora." He swallowed at the name, "She was little younger than you I think, but you two were the closest in age. I don't remember what game you were playing, but I do remember that I accidentally trampled over it."

"Accidentally, huh?"

He cracked a smile at that, "Maybe not so much." He laughed, "I remember you got so mad. I don't remember what you said but you got right up in my face and told me off."

"That does sound like me," I agreed with a laugh.

"I remember it the other night in the hospital," Derek noted, this was his first mention of our argument, "You've never been scared of me for a second. I could probably make Stiles wet his pants, but you..." He shook his head.

I shrugged, "I can handle myself against a werewolf, no taser needed." I reminded him, "Besides, Laura told me you were basically just a big puppy."

"Did she?" Derek raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, she hoped you stayed that way." I noted, "She was worried that you'd lose that."

He sighed, "Laura always thought more highly of me then I deserved."

"Big sisters can do that, for sure." I said knowingly, thinking of Stiles he was basically my brother, "But I don't think she was wrong."

Derek met my eyes for a moment as if trying to read something there, "I think I could trust you, but you may not want to trust me."

I wasn't sure how to respond to that. He had a point, I still wasn't sure if he was set on the good path or if he would turn bad. As much as I trusted Laura's opinion of him, I didn't know Derek Hale very well. He had shown me glimpses of the person Laura had talked about, he had worked hard to push that person down. I decided not to respond, that was enough talking for now. I was tired and the shadows were starting to deepen around us. I reached down and pulled the lever on my seat to recline back, and shortly after Derek did the same. We lay back in silence, watching the leaves shifting in the wind through the sun roof. I think we had made progress today, I had given him more reason to trust me. Though I was now coming to terms with having admitted that part of my past to someone. I didn't like to think about that time, I had felt like I was going crazy. I still felt like part of my was in the fire and it still made me afraid to close my eyes sometimes. I had never told anyone, but if anyone needed to know it was Derek. He needed to trust me. Slowly I let my mind clear again.

I must have drifted off because when I woke up it was dark out and the passenger seat was empty except for Declan's sweatshirt. It was the only sign Derek had even been here. I sat my seat up and tossed the sweatshirt into the back, I turned my car on again to check the time and get the heat going. It had gotten colder. I rubbed my eyes to make sure I was awake and then I pulled onto the road to go home.

I was surprised to find the house empty when I got there, I went to my room and grabbed my phone. I had several mixed calls from Stiles but he had only left one message. It was about an accident at the school, I didn't wait to hear the whole thing, I just called him quickly.

"Hello?"

"Stiles, I'm sorry I left my phone in my room," I said quickly, "What happened?"

"There was a mountain lion at the school, dad got hit by a car," Stiles said quickly, "He's fine, just a bad bruise. We're leaving the hospital now. We'll see you at home."

"See you then," I sighed and hung up, I went to get in the shower.

I could tell that Stiles was angry with me, probably for not answering his calls. I knew it would be pointless to apologize again so I just let it go. He would stew over for a day or two and then he would decide to forgive me. I definitely didn't want to explain where I had been. Considering how anti-Derek he was I knew that telling him I had been saving Derek again instead of answering his calls, I doubted that would win me many points.

The appearance of an actual mountain lion in the midst of all of the attacks was definitely serendipitous. Of course it wasn't the mountain lion that had killed those people, and this particular mountain lion would probably be cleared of the charges. Still, it would only go reinforce the false belief that it really was some sort of mountain lion that was committing the attacks. I closed my eyes against a tension headache and decided to go to bed early.

I dreamed that I was running.

...

"He's into you." Selena said triumphantly and shifted on my bed where she had been flipping through a magazine. We had been working on a healing spell for the Sheriff, so that his bruising would fade more quickly from the car accident.

"Who is?" I asked, trying to make my tone sound as bored as possible.

Selena sat up, crossing her legs in front of her, "Derek!"

I laughed sharply, "Don't think so."

"Oh, come on," Selena had a very smug look on her face, "Let's look at the evidence. He's a giant asshole to everyone else on the planet. He obviously trusts you too, at least as much as he can, I mean he's constantly showing up to ask you for help or just compare notes or whatever on the alpha." She grinned, "All of those little excuses just to come see you."

"Probably because our moms were close," I rolled my eyes.

"Or, and hear me out here, _or_ because he wants to see you naked."

I laughed again, "You have an overactive imagination."

"I'm so right," Selena picked up the magazine again, "It's ridiculous how right I am."

"It's certainly ridiculous," I teased and finished the spell, "There, how does this look."

Selena took the pouch from me and examined it, "Good, you're getting better at this." She noted before tossing it back to me.

I got up and went to the Sheriff's room to tuck this under his bed quickly, when I got back we settled down to work on some actual homework. Fortunately she didn't bring up her little theory about Derek again. I didn't buy it, Derek and I were... well almost friends. Considering how bent out of shape he got about Scott having a 'distraction' of a girlfriend I doubted he would let himself be interested in anyone. I wasn't exactly looking for a romantic entanglement either to be honest. I hadn't even considered it a possibility with Derek. Selena was just creating her own drama to entertain herself.

I had all but forgotten the conversation when I turned out the lamp and laid down to try and get to sleep. My phone buzzed on the nightstand and I sighed, sitting up and grabbing it, I figured it was probably Selena staying up too late or something. It was a from a number I didn't have programmed into my phone and it was a text that just said "Window." I looked over at the window and saw Derek there, tucking his phone back into his pocket as he crouched on the roof.

I sighed and got up opening the window for him, "What's up?" I asked, shivering slightly as a cold wind drifted in with him.

He straightened and glanced at me before closing the window, "Scott met the alpha tonight."

"What?" I said a bit too loud and glanced at the door, everything was quiet in the hall, "Is he okay?"

"Yeah, he's fine." he answered, it was Derek that looked shaken.

I went and locked my door, "Did he speak to him?"

"No, Scott said he could feel rage," Derek ran a hand through his hair, "and he drew a spiral."

A spiral, I could almost remember what this meant, to give myself time to think about it I rummaged for a sweatshirt in my dresser that I forgot as soon as the detail clicked into place, "It means a vendetta, right?"

"Yeah." Derek swallowed, "Exactly."

"Whose vendetta?" I asked, mostly to myself, Eva had said that the alpha had a purpose. It was motivated by something, a vendetta would certainly fit that description.

"I'm not sure, I may need your help with that," Derek shoved his hands into his pockets, the leather of his jacket creaking slightly.

I laughed lightly, "I'm not sure how much help I can be with that. This doesn't really get me any closer to being able to identify who the alpha is. All it does is to confirm that these killings aren't random, but I already suspected that."

"Do you think you could look into someone's mind?" Derek asked, ignoring my last statement.

I blinked, "Whoa, that's intense," he was staring at me, "Maybe, if they are open to it."

"Good," Derek nodded and turned back to the window.

"Are you going to tell me what you're thinking about or are we back to all this cloak and dagger nonsense?" I asked, moving over as he opened the window again.

He sighed, "I'm still working on it. I'll let you know." Derek started to climb out of the window again and he paused, "The tattoo looks good, by the way."

"Oh," I glanced back and could see it in the mirror, the tank top I was wearing didn't cover it, "Thanks."

He nodded and then jumped down from the roof and vanished into the darkness. I shook my head and closed the window, locking it again. Only then it occurred to me that what he had done was only marginally less intrusive than just breaking into my room. I rolled my eyes, werewolves, they had no sense of boundaries apparently. At least he did use his phone instead of just sitting there staring at me until I noticed him. I would take whatever progress I could get.

The alpha had gotten near Scott again, only proving how there was probably very little we could do to actually protect Scott. I fell into bed feeling completely powerless. How had all of this been put on me? Oh right, I had volunteered. Then again I hadn't really volunteered, it was my duty as a white witch. As a Blanchett witch. Protect the innocent, stop the big bad wolf. How, exactly, was I supposed to do that? I had my not yet fully developed powers, Scott who was not even a little competent as a werewolf, and Derek who could honestly still pull an Anakin Skywalker and join the dark side.

"We are so screwed." I sighed and pressed my palms against my eyes until I saw stars, "So screwed."

...

Scott and Stiles were both acting strange the next day, but I decided whatever they were up to was dead last on my list of concerns. At school I relayed the meaning of the spiral to Selena and that seemed to worry her enough to keep her from commenting on Derek's late night visit.

"So you were right then, these attacks aren't random," Selena noted and shook her head, "It's part of a vendetta, but for what?"

"I don't know," I shrugged, "The bus driver that was attacked, he recognized Derek and I. He apologized for something."

"Okay, well why would he apologize to you guys?" Selena curled a strand of hair around her finger thoughtfully.

I shifted, staring into my locker without seeing, "It all seems to come back to the fire somehow. I think that's why Laura was here, she was looking for answers about what happened six years ago. It's the tragedy that Derek and I have in common, and it's certainly vendetta-worthy."

"Okay, but if someone is trying to avenge the deaths of the Hales why would they kill Laura?" Selena frowned, "That makes no sense."

"Unless she had something they wanted," I shook my head, brainstorming absently, "Maybe information or... the alpha spark."

"This is so messed up," Selena noted grimly and I couldn't help but agree.

After school I pulled into the driveway at home and got out of my car, I was getting a headache. I figured it was probably from stress. I needed a vacation, but that didn't seem likely to happen ever again. I opened the back to get my school bag out when I felt it, the feeling that I was being watched. At this point I don't know what I would do if it didn't end up being Derek. Sure enough was across the street, he had parked his car and was leaning against the door watching me. I locked my car and started over to him irritably.

"I gave you my number for a reason," I informed him, "I feel like you don't understand why."

Derek rolled his eyes and just straightened, opening the passenger side door for me, "Come on, I have an idea."

"Super," I started to get in, "Is this anything like your other brilliant ideas?"

He just closed the door behind me and went around to get into the driver's seat, "I think I have an idea of how we can find out more about the alpha."

"I love it when you're cryptic and secretive," I joked as he started to the car, "It's not frustrating at all. How are things going with Scott by the way?"

"I'm trying to teach him control."

" 'Trying' being the operative word?" I asked.

"He was bitten, it takes time, I'm not sure how we should be going about it," Derek was clearly frustrated as he pulled onto the road and sped away.

"Well, I think Scott and Stiles were working on it at school," I noted, "I overheard Stiles saying that he was going to be a better Yoda than you."

Derek snorted, "Sure, until he gets himself killed."

"Your shining optimism is so comforting." I shot back.

"You're in a particularly sarcastic mood today," Derek noted drily.

"Coping mechanism," I waved a hand dismissively, "I bury all my stress under layers of snark and bad jokes. I'm sure it will never come back to haunt me in the form of a nervous breakdown."

He parked at the hospital and got out, "Well, if you're going to have a nervous break down, this would be the place."

"Ha ha," I deadpanned and followed him inside, "Not that I don't enjoy these frequent trips to the hospital, but maybe we could mix it up sometime and go someplace not oozing with death and sickness."

I followed him to his uncle's hospital room and we entered quietly. Peter was in his wheelchair with his back to us, facing the windows. I guess some nurse had thought that he should have a nice view. Of course whether or not he actually had the mental capacity to appreciate seeing the sky was up for debate. I had a feeling that was a debate Derek wanted to settle today. He must have come to the same conclusion that I had, that the vendetta had to do with the Hale fire. I guess it was reasonable to expect that the only known survivor of it may be able to offer some insight. That was if he was actually still in there.

I sighed at the realization, "You want me to see if I can see into his mind?" It was hardly a question, that was obvious now.

"If you can," Derek replied.

I slid out of my jacket and draped it over the foot of the bed, hanging my scarf on it, "This feels like a long shot Derek."

"If it has to do with what happened six years ago then he's our best chance," He argued and then shook his head, "Elise, would you please try?"

I rubbed the palms of my hands together nervously, "I'll try, don't expect much okay?"

I sat on the edge of the hospital bed and Derek turned the chair around so that Peter Hale was facing me. I looked into those blank eyes and felt whatever hope I did have ebbing away. There didn't seem to be much left of the person he had once been. I glanced at Derek, I was acutely aware that I might look into his mind and see only pain and fire. I wasn't particularly fond of that idea. I took a deep breath and focused back on Peter, I raised my hands to touch each of his temples gently.

"Sorry, uh, for the intrusion," I apologized in advance and closed my eyes, reaching out with my magic. I felt it flaring to life and forming a connection between his consciousness and mine. I wasn't even sure it would work until suddenly all I saw were flames, I was standing back the familiar hallway of the Hale house. All around me was fire and I felt it biting into my skin, the pain was more real than anything I had ever experienced.

I jerked back and severed the connection instantly, I bolted away from the catatonic man toward the window. My hands were shaking and I rubbed them against my skirt, as if some remnants of the connection I had formed with his mind might still be on my fingertips. I could feel my heart beating wildly in my chest, I hadn't felt like this in quite some time. For the most part I had banished the fire from my memory. I could still feel the heat of it on my skin. I leaned my forehead against the window pane, the coolness of the glass helped. It helped bring me back to the present and I felt my breathing and heart rate calm. Soon I was calm enough to feel embarrassed by my little episode, I must look insane.

"Sorry," I spoke, "All I saw was fire."

I turned around as I spoke and was surprised to find Derek there, as close as we had been standing when we had argued in this room before. He was watching me carefully, as if I might collapse at any moment, and for once his gaze was unguarded and even reflected concern, "I'm sorry," he said softly, "I didn't think..."

I cleared my throat awkwardly and gave him a reassuring smile, "I'm fine. It's fine."

Derek nodded and glanced at Peter, "I guess this idea was a bust."

"Maybe not," I tucked my hair behind my ears, glad to have his penetrating gaze away from me. I had felt vulnerable enough in that moment without him staring at me like that, "You're his nephew, try just talking to him."

Derek didn't look so certain but he took my spot on the edge of the bed, seeming almost nervous as he started talking to Peter. I hung back and just crossed my arms, trying to give him his space. I figured this might be awkward enough without me watching over his shoulder. I wasn't even sure how useful it would be, I hadn't gotten much of a sense of Peter Hale in my short glimpse. There had been a flicker of something, but I couldn't be sure.

"I need your help." Derek started, "If you can hear me, I need you to give me a sign. Blink. Raise a finger. Anything. Just... Just something to point me in the right direction, okay?"

Peter didn't look any more alive than before and Derek glanced at me and I gave an encouraging nod. Derek cast his eyes down at his own hands for a moment as if gathering his thoughts, "Someone killed Laura." He began again holding back the pain that came with those words, "Your niece. Laura?" Derek looked at Peter for a long moment as if hoping for a reaction, there was none.

"Whoever he is, he's an alpha now. But he's one without a pack." He pushed on, "Which means he's not as strong. I can take him. But I have to find him first. Look, if you know something, just give me a sign. Is it one of us? Did someone else make it out of the fire?" He was getting more and more determined, "Just give me anything. Blink, raise a finger, just anything." His desperation reached a peak and he leaned forward, grabbing the arms of the wheelchair, "Say something!"

I moved forward quickly and gripped his arm placing my other hand on his shoulder in a restraining gesture, "Derek..."

"Let him go." The same nurse from the other night was standing in the doorway. How long had she been there? She was quiet like a ninja. Derek straightened and looked back at her as she continued, "You think after six years of this, yelling at him is going to get a response?"

"You got a better method?" He challenged.

"Patience," She answered quickly, "He'll respond if you give him the time."

Derek looked down at the still motionless Peter and then looked at me, I realized that I still had a hand on his arm so I dropped it quickly, "I don't have any more time," Derek said simply and brushed past the nurse on his way out.

I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose for a moment before remembering he had driven me here, "Sorry," I apologized to the nurse and hurried out, grabbing my jacket quickly as I went, "Derek!"

I had to run to catch up with him and when I did it became clear he wasn't in the mood to talk. He was disappointed, and probably felt pretty silly for even trying. I wasn't entirely sure what to say, or what I could say that would make him feel better. I figured this was probably a time just to let him stew in silence. I pulled my jacket as we exited the hospital, there was snow falling lazily. It wasn't enough to stick but it was a testament to how cold it was. Derek stormed around to the drivers side of his car and snatched a piece of paper off the windshield. Someone had left it under one of the wipers to keep it from blowing away. It was too big to be a parking ticket, it was probably a flier or something. He looked at it for a moment and then glanced around as if the person that left it would still be hanging around.

I stayed on my side of the car, straightening my jacket, "What is it?"

Derek looked at me for a moment, his gaze piercing and thoughtful as he decided to ignore my question. He got into the car quickly and I moved to open the door, but it was still locked, "Hey," I called and rapped on the window. Derek didn't look up, he just put the car in gear and I had to step back as the car sped away.

"Derek!" I watched him go, "Seriously?!"

I tugged my jacket tighter around myself and looked around the parking lot, completely at a loss. I needed to know what was on that piece of paper, if Derek didn't want me to come along it was probably because he thought I wouldn't approve of whatever he was doing. I paused when I realized my scarf was missing and I moved to back track to the hospital room and retrieve it, it wasn't like I could go anywhere fast anyway. Besides, it was cold and a dress and leggings didn't prove to provide much warmth. The nurse had left the room when I got there and Peter hadn't moved. I looked around for my scarf for a moment before giving up, I probably dropped it in the hall or something.

I glanced at Peter again, it was interesting that whoever had put that paper on his car had done it while we were here. It occurred to me that being catatonic was one hell of an alibi. Also, that an alpha spark might provide an additional healing boost that someone who had been half burned might need. I moved back over to Peter and sat on the bed again, scrutinizing him. His eyes were definitely far away, from what I could tell he hadn't moved in any way since we had first arrived. I reached up hesitantly to touched some of the scarring on his right temple.

"No, that would have healed," I sighed and shook my head, I needed to find Derek so that we could figure out who the alpha was. Mostly I needed to find him so that he didn't do whatever it was he knew I wouldn't approve of. I got up and closed the door quickly, I put my bag on the bed and started digging through for something. I pulled a small stub of a candle out, I needed to know where Derek was going. Tracking spells could be hit or miss, but I hoped this would be one of the instances when it proved reliable. I glanced at Peter and then the door again before snapping my fingers over the wick of the candle to light it.

I closed my eyes and inhaled the smoke that drifted lazily up from the flame, a familiar haziness came over my. It felt as though the smoke was in my skull, warming me up from the inside out. This was a good sign. I pulled up an image of Derek in my mind, the image swirled like smoke in a breeze and took another form. It was the image of the sign for the animal clinic.

I blew the candle out quickly and shoved it back into my bag before hurrying out, I didn't have time to get a ride so I just zipped my jacket up tightly and started to walk. It wasn't too far. When I felt that I had adjusted as much as I could to the cold air I started to run, I couldn't imagine what had been on that paper that would lead him to the clinic but I knew I needed to get there quickly. I spent the run entertaining the thought of punching him in the face. I knew it would hurt him more then it would hurt me, but I wasn't entirely sure that it wouldn't be worth it. I mean, it was snowing and he had abandoned me. I was starting to understand why Stiles had such a low Derek tolerance.

The sun had set by the time I arrived at the clinic. The sign hanging on the front door was turned to 'closed' but when I peeked in I could see a light on in the exam room. When I tried the door I found it to be unlocked. That seemed unusual for after hours. Suddenly I had a thought, what if Derek had killed someone? Or done something almost as unforgivable, something that would make him my target? I had sworn to the coven that I would put an end to him if he became a danger to innocent people. I gripped the handle of the door tightly.

No. Derek wouldn't do that, there was more good in him then that. Even if he was a giant asshole. Then my anger and indignation came flooding back and pushed away the more morbid thoughts, "Derek!" I shouted angrily as I shoved the door open and stormed inside.

When I entered the exam room it was Scott that I saw first, he was standing over Dr. Deaton and cleaning a wound on the man's cheek. It appeared that the good doctor was currently unconscious, and tied to a chair. A movement in the corner caught my eye and I turned to see Derek standing sullenly in the corner. When I looked at him he at least had the good decency to look remorseful, even if only for an instant.

"Seriously! I should kick your werewolf ass!" I stormed over to him and shoved him, more angry then rational. Of course this had little affect on him, he wasn't unmovable wall of werewolf muscle, "You abandoned me at the hospital without even a word so you could go beat up Dr. Deaton?!"

"I knew you wouldn't let me," Derek defended.

"You're damn right I wouldn't have let you!" This time I conjured my magic and used that to push him and to my pleasure he looked reasonably surprised when he was slammed back against the wall. I just continued my rant, "Ugh! I had to walk here, it's cold outside! I vouched for you to the coven and then you go pull this..." I motioned toward the unconscious Deaton, the words failing to come to me.

"He lied. He said he hadn't ever seen anything like this. He lied, why would he do that?" Derek held up the piece of paper that he had found as if it were some sort of infallible evidence in his favor.

I snatched the paper away and examined it, it was a photo of a dead dear with a spiral carved into its side, "I don't know but you don't just go around punching people you're suspicious of! What if he's innocent Derek?"

"What if he's not?!" He shot back, "What if he's the alpha? Or protecting the alpha?"

"There are other ways to find that out." I sighed irritably and went to see if I could help Scott.

Scott nodded, "Look, just give me an hour."

Derek sighed, "Then what?"

"Meet me at the school. In the parking lot." Scott had the look of someone that was working through an idea, "And don't hurt him anymore."

I folded my arms across my chest, "Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on him."

"Thanks Elise," Scott noted gratefully, "An hour," he repeated and then started out.

After Scott left I set my bag on the exam table and went to examine Dr. Deaton's wounds. I could feel Derek's green glare boring into me, and I was very pointedly ignoring it. I touched the doctor's cheek and pushed some of my magic into his skin, hopefully that would help with the healing and the pain whenever he woke up. It was several long, silent minutes before one of us spoke.

"You vouched for me with the coven," He said finally, not moving from the corner maybe he was afraid I'd use magic on him again. I might have, hard to say.

I glanced at him before turning back to Deaton's wounds, "Yeah, I did. They wanted to know if I thought you were a risk."

"And you told them no," Derek concluded.

I shrugged, "Not exactly. I said that you were dangerous, but that there was good in you. I basically took responsibility for you." I shot him a glare, "I didn't realize it would be a full time commitment."

"I'm sorry," He said finally.

"Dr. Deaton might like to hear that," I noted drily.

"I'm not sorry about that," Derek rolled his eyes, "I'm sorry that I left you at the hospital. I did what I thought I needed to in order to get answers."

"I thought the whole point of this was that were doing it as a pack," I snapped, "The whole 'we're stronger in numbers' philosophy. You can't go rogue. We have to trust each other."

"I don't trust anyone," Derek said simply.

"You've made that abundantly clear."

After that we fell silent, even after I abandoned Deaton's wounds we didn't speak. I stayed on the other side of the room, keeping a close eye on Dr. Deaton while we waited. Once the hour was almost up Derek grabbed a roll of duct tape and went to tape the doc's mouth. This quickly escalated into another confrontation, in the end I relented. He had a point, if the doctor woke up while we were driving somewhere and started screaming. The last thing we would need was to be pulled over by the police. I made sure to let him know that I was very unhappy about it though. However, we were soon at it again when Derek was determined to put his prisoner in the trunk of his car.

"No way," I said firmly, "Absolutely not."

Derek gave an exasperated sigh and just pressed the button on the remote that popped the trunk, "And if he wakes up and turns in the backseat?"

"How about he rides shot gun and you ride in the trunk?" I snapped before slamming the trunk closed again and planting my feet firmly, "Or better yet you can walk."

He glared at me but just carried Dr. Deaton around to put him in the back seat. I helped by opening the door and leaning the passenger seat forward. He shoved the poor man back there and then just stormed around to his side of the car. I huffed and did what I could to make Dr. Deaton more comfortable before I got into the front seat. I was in the mood to punch Derek in the face again. He seemed to get over his sulking on the drive, and turned the heat up on high. I had the feeling he was trying to make it up to me for leaving me to walk in the cold earlier. This made me feel slightly less furious, but only a very little bit less.

"How did you find me, by the way?" He asked.

"A tracking spell," I caught his look, "Don't get your hopes up about that. It was a long shot that it would work. It's not always that easy, especially if someone doesn't want to be found."

"You're saying I wanted you to find me?"

"Maybe," I sighed, "Or maybe you were just open to me because you felt bad for leaving me in the parking lot."

"Do you have any idea what these losers are planning?" Derek changed the subject as we pulled into the parking lot at school and saw Scott and Stiles standing by the jeep, Stiles had a flashlight and some bolt cutters cradled in his arms.

"Nope." I shook my head, I hoped it wasn't completely idiotic.

"Where's my boss?" Scott asked as we got out of the car.

"He's in the back." Derek said dismissively.

The boys moved around me to look inside to where Deaton was was lying awkwardly in the back, "Oh, he's looks comfortable." Stiles noted drily.

"I made sure he didn't get put in the trunk," I said defensively when Scott looked my way, "I tried to make him comfortable but I didn't have a lot of help." I shot Derek a scathing look.

Scott just sighed and tapped Stiles on the shoulder, starting up toward the entrance to the school, "Wait. Hey. What are you doing?" Derek stopped them quickly.

Scott looked back as he walked, "You said I was linked with the alpha." he turned to continue climbing the stairs to the door as he finished, "I'm gonna see if you're right."

I nodded, though not entirely sure what that meant, "I'll stay here and continue to wolf-sit, don't mind me." I called after them and just went to lean on the back bumper of the jeep.

Derek shot me a glare but then came around his car to perch next to me while we waited. I shivered faintly, I almost always seemed to be cold these days. I had asked Eva about it once, she said she didn't fully understand but that my mother had been that way too. Apparently my mom always thought that it was because of the magic. When we let our magic flow it felt like a pleasant fire through our veins. So it made sense that the cold would be much more noticeable in its absence.

Derek glanced at me, "I can get a shirt from the trunk..."

"No thanks," I cut him off, still pissed. I'll be the first to admit that it was somewhat childish, but I didn't care. I had a right to be pissed, he abandoned me in a parking lot so that he could go beat in the face in of a guy who had always been perfectly lovely to Scott.

"Aren't white witches supposed to be forgiving?" Derek noted tiredly.

I rolled my eyes, "I'm a witch, not a nun."

This earned a snort of laughter from him and he shifted his weight, his arm brushing mine slightly, "Okay."

Suddenly a sound erupted from the speakers all over the school, it sounded like some sort of pathetic creature. It brought to mind the image of a cartoon cat that had been placed in a pillowcase that was being beaten up against a wall. I blinked and glanced back at the school.

"You've got to be kidding me," A mortified Derek grumbled.

I realized that the sound was Scott, and that he was trying to howl. I burst out laughing as the sound faded pathetically away, all that was left was the sound of my giggling. Derek looked at me and shook his head so I elbowed his arm quickly, "Oh c'mon Derek, that was the most hilarious thing I've ever heard."

"It's embarrassing, is what it is," Derek corrected me.

I laughed again, "Not for me it's not. I want that to be my ring tone, do you think he'd do it again?"

Derek actually rewarded me with half of a smile when another sound built up through the intercom system. This was definitely not a drowning cat, this was a real, proper, howl. The window panes of the school trembled with it and it was so loud I could feel it reverberating in my chest. Derek and I exchanged a look and we both stood from the bumper and walked around to watch the school. Needless to say we were both surprised, it was loud. This was their plan? This was the worst plan ever! What were we supposed to do if the alpha answered his call? I glanced around quickly as if it might already be here waiting to pounce as the last echoes of Scott's first successful howl faded away. A few minutes later the two dingbats came sauntering out of the school, looking very pleased with themselves.

"I'm gonna kill both of you!" Derek threatened accusingly.

I frowned at him, "Do you just threaten to kill them all the time? Eventually that's going to stop working."

He ignored me, "What the hell was that?" he demanded, "What are you trying to do, attract the entire state to the school?"

"Sorry." Scott said but clearly he was pretty satisfied with his howl, "I didn't know it would be that loud."

"Yeah, it was loud. And it was awesome." Stiles chimed in and I rolled my eyes, resisting the urge to face palm. This was my pack. Dear god what a depressing thought.

"Shut up." Derek ordered.

"Don't be such a sour-wolf," Stiles said simply. I stored that away for later, 'sour-wolf' I liked that.

Scott motioned to get Stiles' attention quickly, staring past us at the car, "What'd you do with him?"

"What?" Derek frowned and we both looked back, the passenger side door was open with the seat folded forward. The car was empty, there was no Dr. Deaton to be seen.

"I didn't do anything," Derek insisted turning back around to face them.

I nodded, "Yeah, I was watching him the whole time."

A low growling was the only warning of the attack, and it gave us less then a second to react. Suddenly Derek jerked and then choked, the sound turning into an odd gurgling. I turned and watched him being lifted from the ground, blood spouting from his mouth. With the tips of blood stained claws piercing his abdomen. The beast was massive, towering above us with bright red eyes and huge pointed teeth made visible by its snarling that was growing in volume and anger.

"Run!" I shouted at the boys as the alpha tossed Derek like a rag doll easily twenty feet until he hit the wall of the school and fell in a lifeless heap into the leaves. I moved to pivot on my feet to face the attacker, magic tingling in the palms of my hands as I built up to strike. A giant clawed hand swung out and struck me in the side so hard that my feet left the ground. I was flung just as far as Derek had been. The impact of striking the brick wall of the school caused me to emit an involuntary yelp. I felt the side of my skull smack the brick and then I landed only a few feet away from Derek.

The wind had been knocked out of me and grasped for air and scrambled on my hands and knees to check Derek for signs of life. I felt like the ground was rolling underneath me, as though I was on the deck of a ship during a storm. I didn't dare try to get to my feet, black dots swam before my vision. I gripped the neck of Derek's jacket and pulled it back, trying to find a pulse but I was too disoriented. The snarling intensified.

"Derek?" My voice sounded hoarse and far away. I felt the shadow looming over me and I jerked around, this made my head spin. I was ready to get off of whatever cheaply made carnival ride this was, the spinning made my stomach twist. The alpha leaned down close, it's teeth dripping with saliva and only a few inches from my face. It's hot breath blew strands of my hair back. I was gripping the back of Derek's jacket very tightly, the leather solid and comforting. It helped to keep me stable despite my ragged breathing and throbbing head. The air was cold but I felt a layer of sweat over my skin. This was it, I was going to die without even being able to put up much of a fight.

I flinched back as it reached up a monstrous hand, it's elongated claws still dripping with Derek's blood. Its claws brushed my cheek a razor sharp claw brushing over my throat. It didn't apply enough pressure to break the skin, but it left trails of Derek's still warm blood behind. There was a low rumble in the back of its throat, surely it was about to strike. I closed my eyes, preparing for the final blow, but then the presence was gone. I opened my eyes and saw the parking lot swimming before me. The image of it seemed to ripple before my eyes and the black spots grew starting to envelope my vision. The earth was tilting rapidly, we would all fall off of it into space. No, wait, I was just falling. Everything went black before I hit the ground.

I dreamed that I was running again. I was running through the forest and it was so dark I couldn't see the ground in front of me. I propelled myself forward because I had to run, I couldn't tell if I was running to or from something. All I felt was the urgency, I had to keep pressing forward. I lengthened my stride flying forth into the blackness, unsure of where I was stepping until I felt my boot meet the solid ground. Then suddenly it didn't, there was no longer the earth beneath my feet and I was falling. My arms flailed but I couldn't scream, I couldn't do anything. Then I hit something, or more like something caught me. An arm wrapped around my back as I collided with him, an unmoving force. Derek's face looked down at me, blood still staining his chin and lips bright red.

"I got you," He echoed my words of reassurance from his run in with Kate Argent.

I opened my eyes slowly, I was warm and there was definitely a pillow beneath my head. I blinked slowly, letting my eyes adjust to the dark room, my room. I reached up to feel my throbbing head and hissed when I touched the tender area of my skull where it had bashed against the school. My ribs hurt, but they were probably just bruised, nothing more. I sat up slowly, but fortunately the room didn't start spinning again. I swallowed, how did I get here? I looked around, expecting someone to be in the shadows, but I was alone. I reached over and turned the lamp on, I flinched back at the bright light and took another moment to adjust.

I got up off of the bed and moved to my bathroom, the blood from the alpha's claws had dried on my face and neck. They looked like slashes, it was morbid sight, the bright red of blood a stark contrast to my skin. I turned on the sink and started to wash it off quickly, this was very important, I had to get it off. When I was satisfied that all traces of it were gone I looked at my reflection again, I looked pale and unwell, but then again I did have a pretty good knock on my head. I let out a shaking breath and closed my eyes. I still felt disoriented. I ran through the events in my mind, making sure I had them all in order before I remembered.

"Stiles!" I gasped and went back out into my room, my bag was sitting at the foot of the bed and I sat down to rummage through it for my phone. On it were quite a few texts from Stiles, the first were asking if I was okay. Then saying that the alpha had killed the janitor, then asking where I was. The last few were assertions that they were all alive and the alpha was gone, apparently so was Derek. Which was good because Scott had decided to blame it all on him, again.

I heard the jeep pulling into the driveway downstairs and I tossed the phone aside but didn't bother to get up. I listened to the front door banging open and then the sound of Stiles ungracefully mounting the stairs two or three at a time. That kid, was just... so loud.

"Elise?!" He appeared in my doorway, "Oh thank god! What happened to you?"

"I'm not sure," I was relieved to hear that my voice sounded stronger than I felt, "I got knocked out and I just woke up here."

Stiles glanced toward the window at the sound of the Sheriff's cruiser pulling up to the house, "Are you okay?"

"I have a headache, but I'll be fine," I assured him, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah... yeah, I think so. Yeah," Stiles nodded quickly, "We didn't tell them you were there so... you weren't there."

"Okay," I heard the door open downstairs again, "You can tell me everything tomorrow, okay?"

He nodded, "Yeah, uh, I'm glad you're okay. Really, really glad you're okay."

"Me too, but about you," I gave him a tired smile, "Go get some rest Stiles."

The Sheriff came to check in and I told him that I had been at Selena's and didn't know that anything had happened until I got home. He seemed to buy it, but I must have really looked rough because he kept asking if I was okay. I told him it was just a really bad head ache and he brought me some aspirin and water and told me to get some sleep. I was relieved to be able to close my door and keep them both out. I did want to know what happened, but I still felt off. I felt like I was in both of a reality and a dream simultaneously and I couldn't think very coherently. I took four aspirin for my head ache and then turned on my shower. I had washed the blood off but I could still feel where it had been.

I undressed, pausing to examine the darkening bruises that was blossoming along my side where he had hit me. There were also bruises on my back and shoulder where I had struck the wall. I would have to be careful to keep these covered so that the Sheriff didn't start asking where I got them. I took a long shower, letting the hot water ease my aching body. Afterwards I crawled gratefully into bed, the one good thing about how I felt was that it was easy to ignore all of the questions I had. I was aching and tired, too tired to be able to worry about them. I managed to fall into a mercifully dreamless sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

_Author's note:_

 _I'm so sorry for the delayed update. I stopped before because I wasn't quite happy with the shape of the original chapters, and I'm easily distracted. I have gone back to the original chapters and made some changes. I'm definitely more happy with them now, they feel a little more complete. There's aren't many major changes. I am going to try to update much more regularly. Apologies for the delay!_

...

 **CHAPTER FIVE**

"I don't think it was Derek," Stiles said stubbornly.

I rolled my eyes, "Who else could it have possibly been? Do you think the alpha took a break from terrorizing you guys in the school to drive me home?"

"No," Stiles shook his head, "I just don't think it was Derek. I mean, Derek seemed pretty dead to me the last time I saw him. You know, with the coughing up blood and being dead. _Dead._ "

I worked on the combination lock to my locker, "He's not dead, _someone_ drove his car away from the school."

"Well, whatever," Stiles shifted the strap of his backpack on his shoulder, "Have we ruled out teleportation?"

I raised an eyebrow at him, "I can't teleport, Stiles."

"You can't or you just never have before?" He asked, "I mean Harry Potter could teleport."

"Yeah, you should definitely base the real world of magic off of what you read in Harry Potter." I noted drily, "I can't teleport."

"Okay, well, how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, still a little sore but I'll live," I smiled at him, "How is Scott doing? Full moon tonight."

"He's freaking out about Allison, and acting really weird," Stiles noted running a hand over his hair.

"Do you have a plan on how to handle him tonight?"

"His mom is working late so the plan is to chain him up in his room and hope for the best," Stiles shrugged.

"I might be a little late getting there, think you can manage on your own until I do?"

"Sure, why are you going to be late?" He shrugged as if werewolf wrangling was no big deal.

I fished out my books and closed the locker door, "I need to go pick up something that could help us with Scott."

"Okay," Stiles nodded, "I'll be fine until you get there."

"Okay, but if you get nervous for even a second you call me," I instructed, "I'll have my phone and I will head right over."

"Sure, sure," Stiles agreed, "Any sign of trouble."

...

I pulled up outside Declan's apartment building a few hours later and sighed. He had seemed reluctant to meet me, much less to help me get my hands on a decent stash of Mountain Ash. I could tell on the phone that he was wondering why I needed it, I figured I would tell him that it had to do with the alpha. I could say I was using it to werewolf-proof the house, or set a trap or something. Besides, I needed to mend bridges with him anyway. I had been researching my mom's fighting spells and honing my magic ever since my run in with the alpha. I had been pretty unsuccessful at taking him on. I could only attribute part of that to the element of surprise. I simply wasn't as prepared as I should be. It had been forever since I'd trained, physically or magically, and I was off my game. I was rusty and I couldn't afford to leave it up to luck. The alpha could have killed me, it had sort of killed Derek. It could have killed Stiles or Scott and I hadn't been able to protect them. So I had been working on my magic since the attack, for the moment I wasn't in any real physical shape to start training to fight again but... eventually I would be. I was using magic to help heal myself so I was already strides ahead of where a non witch would be in the healing process.

I got out and walked up the flight of stairs to get to his apartment and I knocked on the door of 2C. It had been quite a while since I had been here, it felt the same and yet different. The way familiar places do when you've been away for a while. As if everything has shifted only ever so slightly to the left, it's the same but off all at once. It did make me feel a little sad, breaking up had been the right call but I still missed my friend. Declan opened the door after a long moment and was in the process of shrugging into the jacket. He was so tall that he nearly had to stoop to fit through the door. Just like his apartment complex he was the same as ever, but different. I tried to place the differences, his hair was the same dirty blond but maybe longer. His eyes seemed different too, still just as gray, but they didn't look at me the same. Maybe that was the main difference.

Declan nodded in greeting and turned to lock the door behind him, "So, what do you need this for again?"

"I'm working on a plan for what to do about the Alpha," I easily, so I guess it was straight to business now. I wondered if he felt as awkward as I did, maybe not. It was hard to tell, Declan's poker face was probably better than Derek's.

He nodded and lead the way down the stairs and toward his truck, talking casually as we went, "So it has nothing to do with Scott McCall and that tonight is only his second full moon?"

At the foot of the stairs he turned, his keys in his hand and he gave me a knowing look. I blinked and shook my head, "Dammit... how long have they known?"

"Not very long, but they aren't happy that you didn't tell them," Declan got into the driver's side seat of his truck and I climbed in to the passenger side, "As close as Scott and Stiles are the Coven know that you would have known."

I shrugged, trying to sound unconcerned, "I don't have any obligation to tell them."

Declan snorted and just shook his head, "Well, they aren't happy."

"Whatever, why is your source charging me so much for Mountain Ash?" I changed the subject quickly.

"He doesn't know he's charging you, he thinks I want it," Declan corrected, "Mountain Ash is considered old school El, there isn't much demand. So not everyone is stocked up on it these days. He figures he might as well get all of the profit out of it whenever someone does show interest."

"It may be old school, but it works." I shrugged and looked out the window.

"Have you seen much of Derek Hale recently?" Declan asked, "I hear he's a fugitive."

"I haven't seen him since that night at the school," I glanced at him, "He isn't guilty, you know that. Scott and Stiles are just idiots."

"So, you were at the school." Declan noted in disapproval and I cursed inwardly, he always had a knack for getting me to answer questions he hadn't even asked. I had just spilled the beans that I had been involved in the school incident, this was going well. "I heard that you weren't there at all."

"I wasn't there when the police showed up. It wasn't as bad as the papers are making it out to be."

Declan arched a blond eyebrow at me, "You were hurt. Don't lie, your movements are stiff. Bruised ribs?"

I shook my head, "Not badly bruised. I'm fine, the full moon tonight will help with that."

"So, the alpha is the one who bit Scott, I assume?"

"Yes, but don't even start with that," I said firmly, "Scott hasn't done anything wrong. He wants to stop the alpha."

"I hear the influence of an Alpha can be difficult to resist," Declan noted and didn't exactly look convinced by my reassurance. I decided not to respond to that and we were silent for the rest of the drive. The guy apparently lived one town over so it was quite a haul. When we arrived Declan parked and started to get out, "I'll be right back. Stay here."

I nodded and watched him as he strolled up to the house and knocked on the door. A middle aged man answered and let him inside. I glanced around the vehicle, I hadn't been in Declan's truck since before we split. It looked basically the same as it always did, it was pristine. There wasn't a single candy wrapper or speck of dust in sight. A lot of people were surprised to find out that Declan was actually a very tidy and organized person. His appearance often threw them off, he had ruffled hair, tattoos trailing up his arms beneath what was usually a flannel shirt over some faded jeans. He had all the appearance of a rumpled college student, but his clothes were always clean and without a wrinkle in sight. His tattoos were all from the top rated artists in the area and he shelled out big money to ensure that they were all perfectly to his standards. His hair was ruffled in an almost too perfect messy way.

I grinned and just shook my head as he climbed back into the cab, he handed over a large jar of Mountain Ash, "Thanks Dec."

He sighed and nodded, "Sure."

"So, if the Coven isn't happy with me then why are you helping me?" I asked after a few minutes of listening to the radio in silence.

Declan shrugged, "You need the Ash, and maybe I don't always agree with them either." He flashed me a smile, "Scott's a good kid, I can see why you tried to keep it a secret."

It was strange how relieved I was that he didn't share the Coven's disapproval, "Thanks."

I was optimistic that we might actually make it back before the moon rose, my optimism fizzled out when we hit traffic. We were trapped on the highway, inching along at a glacial pace. Clearly there had been some sort of horrible wreck or maybe construction up ahead. We had no real way to get off the road or detour. So, it was going to take a while. Declan was the sort of person that was endlessly patient and he sat there as if we were cruising along at a reasonable rate of speed. He was completely and utterly unbothered by the delay and inconvenience. I, on the other hand, have a fairly low patience threshold. Particularly when we only move about half a mile in 45 minutes. There is only so much to entertain while staring at the same back end of a minivan for an hour. I get it, you have four kids and a dog, why do you need to broadcast it with weird stickers on your back window? Because of that van I hate those stickers now.

"This is ridiculous, don't these people have somewhere to be?" I huffed and pulled out my phone, googling the cause of the traffic jam.

Declan gave an irritatingly nonchalant shrug, "It will resolve itself."

"No wonder, there was some sort of accident up ahead _and_ road work," I gave an impatient sound, "The sun is setting! I'm going to be an old lady by the time we get back."

"Well, that's hyperbolic."

I tugged the top layers of my hair back and tied them at the back of my head irritably, mostly as a way to keep my hands busy, "You shouldn't be so calm about this, you're a few years older than me. Also, men statistically have shorter life spans than women. That means I'll be old lady when we get there, you'll probably have died of old age."

Declan laughed easily, "Patience is a virtue."

"I hate you a little bit right now."

He just laughed again and reached to turn to a different radio station, "You'll get over it, and look! We just moved, it's not all bad."

"We moved exactly three feet," I scowled at him.

Declan laughed but even he grew steadily more agitated as the shadows deepened. By the time the sun had set we were finally out of traffic, but still too far away for comfort. I could feel the moon rising, I could feel it calling my magic up to hover just beneath my skin. I tried to stay calm, to assure myself that Stiles would have chained him up and that would hold at least long enough for me to get there and help keep Scott contained. Then my phone rang.

"Stiles! I'll be there soon, we got caught in some traffic," I answered by way of greeting when I saw it was him calling.

I could hear the sound of the Jeep in the background as he spoke, "He got out! He broke right through the handcuffs and I can't find him."

I paused, " _Handcuffs_?! You said you were going to chain him up not practice foreplay!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize that they wouldn't be enough," He snapped, "And thank you for that traumatizing peek into your foreplay. That was unnecessary."

I shook my head and pinched the bridge of my nose to try and staunch the oncoming headache, "Let me know if you find anything, and stay out of trouble."

I hung up and started digging through my bag quickly pulling out the little stub of a candle, all that was left of my tracking spell. Declan cast it a judgmental look, "Something that basic won't track a wild werewolf Elise."

"It's a full moon, my powers are heightened, and we have no other option right now." I conjured a small spark to light the wick. I inhaled the stream of smoke and felt my magic surging forth, but it came up with nothing. Declan was right of course, this was the most basic of tracking spells and it was shoddy at best. It would be particularly ineffective when tracking someone driven by pure animal instinct, that sort of thing was too unpredictable for the magic to latch on to.

"Tell me how to get to his house, we can get something there that will make him easier to track," Declan offered, relatively calm. I could tell that he was stressed as well, I could imagine all of the different scenarios running through his head. All of the outcomes that could happen with an out of control teenage werewolf on the loose. Scott could end up killed by hunters, or kill an innocent which would amount to the same thing. I closed my eyes as we sped down the streets and tried to focus on feeling for any deaths. I would feel it, surely, if either of those things happened.

It felt like hours before Declan finally pulled up to the curb in front of Scott's house, I was jumping out before the truck had come to a complete stop. Declan stayed in the truck with the engine running, and I appreciated that he seemed to be taking this as seriously as I was. I sprinted up the walkway and mounted the front steps. I found the door unlocked, likely Stiles had been too panicked to worry about something like that so I jerked it open and charged into the house. I ran right into something very solid, or someone, I got scent leather and then two hands gripped my arms to steady me.

"Derek!" I let out a relieved breath, "Where's Scott?"

Derek dropped his hands from my arms and glanced toward the stairs, "In his room, he should be fine now."

"Oh thank god." I took a moment to catch my breath and let the waves of relief watch over me, I had been preparing myself for the worst if I was honest. I still had to see for myself, I had to make absolutely certain. I hurried up the stairs and toward his room, not believing my good luck. I realized that until now I hadn't entirely been sure that Derek hadn't died. Though I'm sure Laura would have paid me a visit if that had happened. When I got to the doorway the lamp in his bedroom was on and Scott was sprawled on his bed fully clothed and sound asleep. I could see mud and leaves on his shoes and I noted the shattered handcuffs by the radiator. I shook my head and sent a quick text to Stiles before going back downstairs.

Derek was on the front porch, leaning against the railing and watching the still idling truck with an unreadable expression. I could see the outline of Declan sitting at the steering wheel and I gave him a thumbs up before joining Derek at the railing, "Thank you, again, for reigning him in. Again."

He nodded, if you could call it that, he inclined his head incrementally, "I'm sure you would have figured it out on your own."

"I don't think I'm as capable as you give me credit for," I laughed, it was a relieved sort of laughter, "If you weren't here to help teach him I honestly don't know what I would do. I don't know the first thing about training a werewolf."

"I'm not so sure I'm the best teacher," Derek answered, "It's different when they're bitten."

Declan climbed out of the cab of the truck and started around the front of it, all of his agitation from earlier gone. Now he was as calm as ever, if a bit guarded, I figured I had Derek's presence to blame for that. Still, he was the picture of casual as he put his hands in his pockets and leaned against the front bumper of the truck, only casting us a brief glance.

"I should go." Derek straightened abruptly and started across the yard to where his car was parked on the curb not far away. I had been in too much of a hurry to notice it before, but there it stood, black and glistening in the moonlight.

I paused as it occurred to me that I hadn't seen Derek since that night at the school, "Derek!" I hurried down the stairs after him and caught up to him at his car, "Listen, thank you for the other night too. For bringing me home."

He gave me a small smile, "I owe you don't I? I still owe you, actually."

"Oh, just your life and an arm. We'll just say you only owe me the arm now." I joked and he nodded, casting a piercing glance over my shoulder toward Declan's truck before getting into his car. He started it up and nearly peeled away from the curb as he left.

...

"Why would he come back here?" Stiles asked as we looked up at the school and then he gasped, "Oh! Maybe he _goes_ here."

"That's stupid," Derek dismissed this theory quickly.

Stiles glared, "Not necessarily."

"Either way, we are spending way too much time here after class," Scott mused, staring up at the school curiously.

I smiled faintly at that, "Okay, let's go."

Derek had been very cryptic about why he knew the alpha might come here, at this point I just accepted it. We needed to at least try. The alpha had killed again, two thugs had been burned alive. Their bodies had been discovered on the full moon. I had no idea how they related to anything. So far all of the victims seemed completely unconnected to one another and the Hale fire. None of it was making sense and I still had no idea where to start when hunting for the alpha. So if Derek thought he had a reason to come back here then I was just lucky to have a direction to go in. I could press him for the details later.

The four of us hurried up to the entrance of the school and entered as quietly as possible. I had made sure to arm Stiles with a taser, I had one too just in case. The werewolves seemed to think that their claws would be enough for protection. Mostly I just think Derek wasn't a fan of using a taser after his many run ins with electricity. It didn't matter, I wasn't entirely convinced that we would be able to do anything about the alpha tonight. I was mostly healed, but a well placed hit could render me nearly useless. Scott was still only a puppy by werewolf standards, Derek was hardly an alpha, and Stiles was... Stiles. I was really hoping that we could at least chase the alpha away before he was able to kill whoever he was after tonight. Derek seemed certain that he was hunting.

We stood in the dark hallway for a moment, assessing which way to go. Derek looked at me as if I would be able to supply some sort of insight, but I honestly had no inkling. The cosmic forces were deciding I needed to find my own way tonight. Not that they were overly helpful most other times. Derek sighed and then just motioned for the other two to go one way and we would go another. Stiles gripped his taser as the boys started away, keeping their footsteps as soft as possible. We turned and went in the opposite direction. I had a fleeting thought that splitting up might not be the best strategy, it never seemed to work out for the Mystery Gang.

Who would we be in the Mystery Gang? I mused as we walked. Well Scott was Scooby for sure, so Stiles would be Shaggy. Derek could be Fred, attractive and occasionally useful to the group, it was also his idea to split up which was definitely in character. Was I Daphne? No, definitely not, she got kidnapped way too much. I could be Velma, the problem solver. I found myself grinning at the idea, and picturing Derek wearing an orange ascot. Derek didn't seem to notice and continued to prowl the halls silently at my side. He stopped and peered around a corner carefully before looking at me again, silently asking for some witch GPS.

I started to shrug again but then paused, I shivered as my jacket was suddenly doing an inadequate job of keeping me warm. I looked down the hall and saw Laura standing at the other end of it, I grabbed Derek's arm and pointed down the hall. He wouldn't be able to see her, and I hadn't yet mentioned that I saw her from time to time. I still wasn't sure if she was actually here in some form or if she was simply the guide I had subconsciously chosen for my visions.

Derek nodded and we started down the hallway, taking the time to glance cautiously into the dark classrooms as we went. The school was eerie at night, it occurred to me I had only ever seen it from the inside during the day. The classrooms that seemed to mundane and innocent by daylight were suddenly ominous. I looked ahead and Laura turned and started down a different hall, passing beyond my line of sight. I picked up my pace slightly to try and catch up with her. Derek caught my arm before I rounded the corner and gave me a warning look before checking to make sure the hallway was clear.

I shrugged apologetically, we were hunting the alpha, it probably wouldn't be good practice to go barging around in the dark. When we rounded the corner the hallway was clear, not even Laura was in sight. That must mean that we were close, then I saw it. At the end of the hall one of the classrooms wasn't as dark as the others. Light shone through the doorway as if a lamp were one, so it must be occupied. It took me a moment to place whose classroom that was, everything seemed different at night. As we approached I was certain that it was Mr. Harris'. Could the alpha be after him? I mean, he was usually kind of a jerk to Stiles but I hadn't ever noticed anything about him that would make me think he would be on somebody's revenge list.

Derek stopped suddenly and I glanced at him, he looked very alert, clearly he sensed something that I didn't. He could probably feel that an alpha was around. Wait, could Harris _be_ the alpha? We exchanged a look and then just moved closer to the lockers to try and see inside the classroom without attracting attention or giving ourselves away. Keeping close to the lockers meant that we could no longer walk side by side, so Derek moved in front of me. When we were close to the door he stopped and pressed himself back against the lockers, reaching an arm back to do the same to me.

Then I heard it, a voice that definitely wasn't human, the sound of it made a shiver run down my spine. It was definitely the sort of voice you would expect from a giant murderous monster, "Look at me! Look at what you've done!"

There was a crash and the sound of wood splintering against the wall and Derek lunged into the classroom swiftly, "Get down!" He cried in warning and grabbed Mr. Harris by the shoulders, bringing him down to the floor and out of harms way.

I was only a step behind him, and definitely ready for an attack this time. I saw the chair flying through the air toward us and only barely registered the monstrous beast that had thrown it. I straightened and raised my hands, my magic lashing out in an invisible force. The only sign of it was a faint rippling in the air, it knocked the chair off its course so that it missed us entirely and collided with the wall behind. When I turned to confront the beast it was gone and the door at the other end of the room was swinging closed.

Derek stood and we both took a step to pursue when light flooded into the windows and the sound of sirens broke the silence, a voice called out of a loud speaker, "This is the police! You're surrounded! No one leave the building!"

He and I looked at each other silently cursing Scott, not for the first about, for making Derek a fugitive. It really hindered our alpha investigation, especially now that we had been so close but would have to make a run for it from the police. The police who should be chasing the alpha! Or maybe not, they probably weren't trained to take on werewolves. Still, the irony wan't lost on me.

Derek grabbed my hand and we sprinted out of the door we had come through, leaving Mr. Harris still huddled on the floor. He hadn't looked up, I was grateful for that. I definitely didn't need my uncle to know that I was hanging around with a suspected murderer. How would I even explain that? I could say that I was finally going through my rebellious phase, he probably wouldn't buy it. We raced down the hall, taking the fastest route to where Derek had parked his car. When we were getting close he stopped abruptly and looked out the window, the parking lot was empty except for a few cop cars that were streaming into it.

"Where's your car?" I gasped, catching my breath from the mad dash across the school.

"Scott and Stiles must have taken it," Derek shook his head, "We'll have to make a run for it."

"On _foot_?" I demanded, "Derek, I can't outrun a car. What am I supposed to tell the Sheriff when I'm caught with a suspected murderer? That I'm going through a 'bad boy' phase?!"

He glared at me for a moment and then sighed, acknowledging that I had a point, "You parked over near the lacrosse field right?" When I nodded he continued quickly, "I'll lead them away. Go, and be careful!"

I nodded and turned on my heal to run in that direction, I heard the door to the school open as he ran out and I just focused on moving as quickly as I could. I grabbed the handrail on the stairs and used it to swing myself around to leap down the stairs. I probably should have been worried about bumping into the alpha without backup, but I was too worried that I was going to get arrested or grounded, to consider that possibility. My sneakers squeaked against the tile as I turned sharply and sprinted past the locker rooms. I stopped at the exit and peered through the small windows that the doors provided. I didn't see any sign of the police on the field yet so I shoved through the doors and started my mad dash toward my car.

Fortunately I arrived at the car without incident and only when I was on the road and heading away that I dialed Stiles on speakerphone, "Hey! Where are you?"

"We took Derek's car, someone is chasing us!" Stiles replied quickly and I could hear the sound of the engine in the background, "I think it's that Kate woman, the hunter one."

"Damn," I tried to think of a plan quickly, "Are you listening to the police scanner?"

"Yeah, apparently Derek is on foot, they just chased him into the iron works."

I strummed my fingers on the steering wheel as I drove, thinking quickly, "Where are you exactly?" I was relieved when I heard the road name, "I'm close, head toward the iron works to pick up Derek, I'll take care of Kate Argent."

"How-"

I hung up the phone before he could ask and just pressed down the gas, speeding past a stop sign in my haste. I pulled my care off the side of the road and barely took the time to turn the engine off before I was out and racing down the alley, if I was right then they would be passing the road at the other end any second. I needed to be there. I reached the other end and crouched behind a dumpster. I could already hear the sound of racing cars getting closer. I pulled my magic up, working on the spell, getting it ready. I would have only one shot to get it right. If I missed then Scott and Stiles were on their own.

The Camaro blew past in a blur of black and right behind it was a smaller green car that I didn't recognize, my spell lashed out like a whip and struck her front right tire. I heard the tire blow, that was enough for me, she would have to stop now. I couldn't risk sticking around though. I turned and raced back to my own car, peeling back out onto the road quickly to put as much distance between myself and Kate Argent as possible.

I called Stiles again quickly once I felt confident that I wasn't being followed, "Did you do that?!" He asked immediately.

"So, it worked?"

"Hell yeah, we lost her. Hold on..." I heard screeching tires and the sound of a car door opening, "Get in!" Stiles ordered and then some odd popping sounds.

"Stiles, is that gunfire!?"

There was some shuffling on the other end and then he spoke again, "We picked up Derek. We're cool, we got away."

After some more shuffling Derek spoke into the phone, "Meet me at the house."

"Okay..." I said but he had already hung up, I knew which house he meant.

I hadn't been sitting on the steps of the Hale house for very long when he pulled up and got out of the car, "Do you really think it's such a good idea to come here right now?"

"It's only for a second, besides, they are all still scrambling back at the iron works." Derek started toward me.

"You know, I don't really appreciate you _barking_ orders at me," I noted and then grinned appreciatively at my own joke.

He glared at me, "Seriously? Now?"

"I told you, it's a coping mechanism." I replied defensively, "Are you ready to tell me how you knew that the alpha would go back to the school?"

Derek had been very vague about that, and I had been desperate enough to go along with it. I really needed to stop doing that, every time I followed him blindly it turned out poorly. He wasn't much of a planner, more of a fly by the seat of your pants personality type. Do it first, think about consequences later.

Derek nodded impatiently and glanced around the trees, speaking quickly, "Yeah, the last time I spoke to Laura she said she was close to figuring something out. Something about a man, last name Harris..."

"Wait! So you _knew_ he was after Mr. Harris?"

"I didn't know if Harris was the alpha or a possible victim," It was his turn to be defensive, "Also, she had found this symbol."

I took the small piece of paper he offered me but didn't look at it yet, "Why am I just now hearing about this? You don't think this could have been helpful? If I had known maybe we could have caught the alpha ages ago!"

He shrugged and just motioned for me to look at the symbol, "I'm telling you now."

"Oh, helpful," I snarked and looked down at the symbol. It was a drawing of something round, maybe a pendant or misshapen coin. On it was a crude drawing of a wolf and the moon, "I've seen this before..."

"Yeah, Scott says it's a necklace that Allison Argent wears."

"No," I shook my head thoughtfully, "I mean, probably, but I wouldn't have notice what Allison wears. No, I've seen this way before."

I stared at the image, I felt it tugging on a memory, something I had buried down deep in the corners of my mind. This was something I had seen that day, the day my mother and the Hales had been killed. If I had seen this necklace then that meant I had probably seen the killer, they had probably been wearing it. I shook my head, it was buried too deep. The memory was significant, it was the most important memory I could probably conjure of that day. However I couldn't help but feel like it was more out of reach.

"I can't remember," I handed it back to him quickly, "We should go before the cops show up."

Derek was watching me carefully, "Scott is going to try and get the necklace. We'll see if there is anything on it that might help."

"Yeah, okay." I sounded distracted, and I was.

...

I hadn't had any luck at all remembering by the time I went to school the next day. However, I did know that it was a memory closely connected with the car accident. That was enough to leave me feeling a little lost all day. I barely even tuned into Scott and Stiles in their discussions about how to retrieve the necklace. I was only half listening to Selena as she discussed different ways we might be able to alter a tracking spell and try to find the alpha again. It didn't matter anyway, it was becoming clear that in order to find the alpha I had to solve the mystery. Since I seemed unable to retrieve the memory I would have to go about it some other way.

When the final bell rang I called Declan on my way to my locker, "Hey," I sighed when he answered, "Look, I need your help with something. Something right up your alley. Do you think you could meet today?"

"When, tonight?" He asked simply, not feeling the need to ask any questions right now.

"No, Stiles' first game actually playing is tonight. Could I come over in like an hour?" I finished dumping my books into my locker as I spoke.

"Sure, I'll see you then."

I hung up and closed the locker door to find Jackson standing there, he was leaning against the wall of lockers and smiled at me. I think the smile was supposed to be charming, but I had never really understood Jackson's appeal. I guess he was attractive appearance-wise, but way too immature and insecure for me to fall for it. He shifted so that he was standing upright now.

"Hey, Elise."

I was trying to think of the last time I'd had a conversation with Jackson that wasn't along the lines of: stop bullying the boys. I couldn't honestly imagine why he would approach me in the halls. I mean, I was closer with Lydia then I was with Jackson and I had hardly cultivated a friendship with her either. I gave him a questioning look and just replied generically, "Hi, Jackson."

"I guess you probably heard that Lydia and I broke up," He offered up and seemed to be watching for my reaction. I didn't have one because I was trying to think of a universe in which I would care, so he continued, "Well, I dumped her actually. Trimming some of the dead weight in my life."

"Charming," I deadpanned.

Jackson chuckled with that, "I always thought you were funny. I always thought that was really cool, and pretty hot."

Ew. Was Jackson seriously hitting on me right now? If so then this was easily the creepiest pass that had ever been made at me, "Gee, thanks."

"Yeah, I guess you get that a lot." Jackson noted and tried to act sheepish, "It's so hard to believe that you and Stiles share genes, I mean you're so..." He motioned up and and down me as if that was supposed to finish the sentence for him.

"Okay, I'm going to walk away now. See you later Jackson," I rolled my eyes and turned to go, I was pretty surprised when he actually grabbed my arm.

"Wait, you're right, that was totally out of line." He said quickly, "Don't tell your boyfriend, okay?"

I stared at his hand on my arm until he withdrew it and then I replied to whatever nonsense he was saying, "Boyfriend?" As if someone would have to have a boyfriend already to not be interested in him, what an ass.

"Yeah, the scary guy that was here looking for you the other day," Jackson had a gleam in his eye now, as if this was the point he was really trying to get at, "Big muscly type, leather jacket. He was here asking for you... and Scott." He reached to rub the back of his neck as if the memory triggered something there.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I brushed it off as casually as I could, "But rest assured, if you're ever this weird and creepy in my vicinity again I'll punch you in the face myself."

I turned and just strode down the hall, not looking back. What the hell had that been about? Why was Jackson so interested in Derek all of the sudden? The more I thought about the possibilities of what this might mean the more I didn't like it. I had known that Jackson suspected Scott of using steroids or something to boost his playing, but what if he was connecting a few too many dots? Derek had had the bad luck of bumping into Jackson in the hallway after he'd been shot so that connected him to both Scott and myself in Jackson's mind. I thought back to how sickly Jackson had looked lately, at first he had looked very similar to how Derek had when he'd been poisoned with wolfsbane.

I thought about the movement where he had rubbed the back of his neck and I glanced back to see him retreating down the hall. I could see a scab above the collar of his shirt, perhaps the right size of an elongated werewolf claw. If Derek had asked Jackson for help finding Scott and Jackson had done something to get on this nerves that day... Derek was already impulsive and dedicated to his tough guy facade, but he had also been poisoned too. If Jackson had figured it out then he probably wouldn't have approached Scott first, and Scott would have immediately reported it to his partner in crime.

I got home just as the Sheriff was leaving and I went directly up to Stiles' room. I didn't bother to knock and just barged in, "Does Jackson _know_?"

Stiles spun around in his computer chair so quickly it almost toppled over and I paused when I noticed Derek standing in the center of the room, "Derek, you're a fugitive and you think hiding out in the Sheriff's house is a good idea?"

"Wait, wait, wait, wait..." Stiles stuttered, "How do you know that Jackson knows?"

"So Jackson does know!" I groaned, "Jackson, the Coven, _you._ We might as well rent a billboard and announce Scott's werewolf status to all of Beacon Hills."

"Who are you talking about?" Derek asked, brow furrowed in confusion.

Stiles brushed off his question to repeat his own, "How do you know that Jackson knows?"

I snorted, "I just had the weirdest encounter with him ever, that's how." I started to pace the room irritably, "At first it seemed like he was hitting on me, then he was asking about Derek and it was kind of threatening and incredibly creepy."

"He _hit_ on you?" Stiles demanded at the same time Derek asked, "He threatened you?"

I paused to roll my eyes at them, "Calm down boys, I can handle myself, especially against Jackson."

"How did he even know that you knew Derek?" Stiles asked with a frown.

"Apparently when Derek was shot and looking for Scott at the school he ran into Jackson in the halls," I looked at Derek and watched understanding flicker across his face, "He asked him where Scott was but not before he asked where I was."

"Damn..." Derek sighed, "He pissed me off and I accidentally scratched him."

"Well some of your weird werewolf stuff rubbed off on him or something because now he knows about werewolves," I informed him, "Congratulations, you win the least subtle werewolf of the year award."

"Jackson doesn't just know about werewolves, he wants to be one." Stiles added while Derek glowered at me.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, he threatened Scott and said he'd out him if he didn't get him whatever it is he needs to become a werewolf." Stiles explained and held up his finger to his temple, spinning it around to indicate he thought Jackson had gone insane.

I laughed humorlessly at that, "Oh, great, we'll just put a formal request in to the alpha. Though if the alpha were to spend more then two seconds around Jackson he would rather throw himself off a cliff then initiate him into the pack."

"What are we going to do?" Stiles asked.

"Let's handle one catastrophe at a time," I glanced at the clock on his nightstand, "I need to go. I'm meeting Declan."

"Declan... oh the witch guy that talks to ghosts?"

"One and the same, he's helping me with something," I said vaguely and just went to my room. I unlocked my desk drawer and shoved my mom's spell book into my bag. I paused to catch my breath, I had been reeling ever since Jackson had approached me. That was a whole other issue. I currently couldn't think of a decent solution to that problem, we couldn't exactly kill Jackson. Yet I couldn't really think of how we could keep him quiet either.

There was a knock at the front door and before I go to answer it I heard Stiles clamber down the stairs as gracefully as ever. I tossed my bag on the bed and just started to change clothes, I would need to hurry and get to Declan's. I wasn't sure how long it was going to take and I didn't want to miss the game, and what little bit of normalcy it represented. My years of cheering for two perpetually benched players had finally paid off and I would see both my boys out on the field. For however brief a time.

I heard Stiles talking to someone on the way back to his room but I didn't register who it was, I figured it was probably Scott. When I had changed and gotten everything I thought would be useful I started out, pausing at Stiles' doorway again.

"Oh, hey Danny," I greeted in surprise and glanced toward where Derek was sitting in the corner with a book open in his lap.

"H-hey El," Stiles greeted suddenly, "I was just introducing Danny to our cousin Miguel."

I raised an eyebrow and turned to see a very sullen looking Derek, " _Hola_." I said to him, failing to hold back a grin. This earned me a steely glare, "Look I'll be at the game later, okay. I even made a sign, one side is for Scott and the other is all Stilinski. I'm going to be waving it like crazy for the whole two seconds you're on the field before you get tackled and they have to carry you off on a stretcher."

Stiles laughed, "Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"Anytime, you boys be good," I waved and then hurried down the stairs.

When I arrived at Declan's I was feeling a little bit better. Well, maybe not better but I was more focused on what I was here to do, what needed to be done. I was going to try to summon Laura, it was time to find out if she was really here trying to help me. If she was then maybe she needed a stronger connection where she could actually just tell me who the alpha was and make this process so much easier on everyone. I had never really dabbled in communicating with the spirit world, it took a very particular sort of witch to be able to do it safely and successfully. It turned out that sort of witch was Declan.

We looked up the proper spell in my mom's book, my mom had never really done this either but I figured her spell would be the one most likely to work for me. Her spells were written for our particular brand of magic. Declan did make a few tweaks as he drew it out in chalk on the floor, this was another thing I had never been particularly good at it. I couldn't draw a straight line to save my life.

When everything was set up he looked at me seriously, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," I eyed the spell, "If she's really here then I need to know. We also need answers, and she can give them to us."

He nodded, he definitely couldn't deny that getting answers directly from the source would be preferable, "There's no guarantee with this. You know that. In all likelihood we won't get any response at all."

"You're a real ray of positive sunshine," I complimented.

He turned out to be right, after several hours of attempting to activate the spell and summon Laura Hale we had nothing to show for it. I closed the spell book tiredly and stared down at the chalk drawing, feeling defeated. I had known it had been a long shot, but I thought that since Laura kept showing herself to me that she would jump at the chance for a direct connection. Maybe it wasn't Laura that I was seeing at all, maybe it was just an image I had conjured for myself. A image borne of my guilty conscience because I couldn't save her.

"I'm sorry El," Declan sighed, "We can try again another day."

I shook my head, "No, I doubt it would ever work."

I packed the spell book back into my bag and Declan nodded, "Maybe Laura Hale has passed on from this plane."

"Whatever that means," I joked, "Thanks Dec, for helping me again. I guess I'll have to get answers the old fashioned way."

"Kicking butts and taking names?" He grinned.

"Exactly," I waved and started for the door, "I better go or I'll miss the game. I'll see you later."

"Later," Declan agreed and closed the door behind me, no doubt going to clean up the mess my failed spell had made in his apartment.

It was really a huge relief to be talking to him again, Declan had been one of my closest friends for a long time. I had really missed him. I even felt a little spark of our more romantic connection from time to time. I didn't really want to go down that path again, but it was nice. It felt normal and stable. Two things I was desperately lacking in my day to day life. With all the time I'd spent worrying about Scott, Derek, and the alpha I had forgotten that I was just a teenager. We were all ill equipped to be handling this sort of thing. It really wasn't fair.

By the time I arrived at the school and joined the Sheriff on the bleachers I was feeling a lot better again. I would figure it out, I had a pack after all. It was, perhaps, the strangest pack ever assembled but it was something. I wasn't doing this alone, and that thought was more comforting then anything else. Even if this went completely sideways and we failed big time then at least I wouldn't be doing this alone. I had my own little Mystery Gang after all. Speaking of, where the hell was my Shaggy?

"Isn't Stiles playing?" I asked the Sheriff as the game started and he shrugged.

"Scott said he would be a little late."

I frowned and tried to focus on the game. Clearly Stiles and Derek were up to something, I just hoped it wasn't something completely brainless. I tried to focus on the game, but it was definitely more difficult now. Instead I focused on acting normal for the Sheriff's benefit. I waved my sign for Scott and cheered just as loudly and passionately as everyone else. We won the game, which I should have been excited about. I really only watched lacrosse because of the boys, but I had developed at least a fraction of the mania everyone else had for it. I just wished that dealing with our very real and very deadly problems was as easy as winning a lacrosse game.

I wandered away from the celebrating hoards of people and checked my phone again. No texts or calls from Stiles, I thought about trying to call him but I knew he probably wouldn't answer if I did. I just hoped he wasn't dead in a ditch somewhere. I thought about calling Derek as well, but I soon dismissed that as well. The parking lot was filling up with people leaving the game so I drifted back to the stands and sat on the bottom bleacher. I would wait for Scott and then we would figure out what happened to Stiles together. Hell, Scott probably already knew. Scooby and Shaggy were basically inseparable after all. It wouldn't be the first time they had left me out of their little loop.

Eventually the parking lot emptied of most of the cars, and there was still no sign of the Jeep anywhere. I hadn't seen Scott either, he would have definitely come to find me before he was leaving. Especially if Stiles and Derek had gone off to do something particularly brainless. The stadium lights over the field suddenly turned off and the whole place was plunged into darkness. I let my eyes adjust, it was a clear night so it didn't take long. I rubbed my chilled fingers together and hugged my jacket closer around me as I started toward the school. I would check the locker room for Scott and if I couldn't find him then... I would go from there.

As I walked I pulled out my phone and dialed Derek's number, I figured between Derek and Stiles he would be the most likely to answer. However, the odds weren't in my favor because it went straight to voicemail. I paused, suddenly my concern deepening. Something was wrong, I could feel it in the air like a heavy fog. I heaved out a sigh that crystalized in the air in front of me before I spoke, trying to sound unconcerned.

"Hey Derek, what happened to you guys? Please tell me you didn't kill Stiles, I know he's annoying but... still." I joked and glanced up at the sky, the stars blinked down at me brightly, "Seriously though, call me. I'm getting worried, about both of you."

I hung up and turned toward the school again, suddenly more determined then ever to find Scott. The doors opened then and a figured came out and started in my direction. It was a man, I could tell it was none of my guys right away. He passed out of the shadow of the school and then stopped when he saw me. Peter Hale showed no signs of fire damage at all. He was the absolute picture of health, and had traded his pajamas for dark clothes and a leather coat. Apparently leather was some sort of werewolf tradition? We stared at each other for a moment, letting the realization sink in for both of us.

Peter smiled casually, "Elise, it's good to see you again."

I glared and flared my magic, about to lash out when the doors opened again and Derek strode out of the darkness. He stopped a few paces behind Peter, something flashed across his face for a moment before he quickly put up a stoic mask. It had been only a second, I hadn't been able to tell what exactly it had been. Maybe pain? Derek didn't look hurt, he seemed calm as ever and not very surprised to see Peter walking and talking.

"I was very impressed the other day, at the hospital," Peter continued conversationally, "You came back to the room and you actually suspected me."

"Derek?" I ignored Peter, not taking my eyes off of the younger werewolf. The one I thought I had gotten to know reasonably well. The Fred of our Mystery gang, or maybe the Daphne as often as he tended to be in distress. He didn't look like he was in distress now. How could Peter have evaporated all that rage? All that lust for vengeance? I couldn't imagine any combination of words that would have worked.

Derek swallowed and took a breath, "Just listen, Elise."

I shivered, the cold suddenly intensely worse for me as Peter began speaking again, "You are so much like your mother. Madeline was a good witch, and a good friend to our family. What I've done, what I'm doing, is for both of our families. They deserve justice."

I had been expecting her to appear the whole time he was speaking, I had definitely felt her coming. On cue Laura walked from somewhere behind me and moved slowly to stand beside Derek, she turned and met my gaze before turning to glare at Peter. I gave a harsh laugh, "Justice? What about justice for Laura?"

Peter gave a very convincing performance, his tone and expression nothing but remorseful. The act was considerably less effective with Laura glaring at him, "It was an accident."

"What a convenient accident for you." I noted, "I mean, what a remarkable number of coincidences must have happened to lead Laura here at the exact time you were waking up."

"I can't help that the alpha spark aided my healing," Peter assured me, "But I would never intentionally hurt my niece, my family. There is nothing more important then family."

Family. Stiles! "Where's Stiles?" I was looking at Derek again when I asked the question, Laura still stood by his side. She was looking at me again and seemed to be trying to say something. It took a moment for me to work out the two words on her lips. Save him.

"He's fine, we left him at the hospital." Derek answered, "Not a scratch on him."

"And Scott?" I challenged and I saw Derek's mask flicker again.

Peter spoke instead, "I am trying to help Scott see things from my perspective. I hope you will come to see it that way as well. The last thing I want is for us to be at odds." He smiled, "Your mother was very close to our family. She died trying to save us, we are allies Elise."

"What you're doing isn't justice," I snapped back at him, "If my mother were alive today she would be hunting you, not helping you."

Peter sighed and then spoke patiently, "Think it over. That's all I ask." He glanced back at Derek before he started walking toward the parking lot. It was a look like a command, apparently the alpha had decided to leave and he expected his minion to fall into line accordingly. Derek hesitated for only a moment before he moved to follow him. I glanced at Laura again, she was still trying to speak to me. Save him. Save him. Save him.

"Derek!" I grabbed his arm and he stopped, turning to look at me, I forced him to meet my gaze, "You don't trust anyone, but you said once that you thought you could trust me. Please trust me now. You're making the wrong choice."

Peter had stopped and turned to watch the exchange, but he didn't say anything. I thought that maybe he was curious to see what would happen, to see if Derek really did trust me. I made sure not to break eye contact, I saw him waver. Derek looked uncertain. Maybe I could convince him, maybe he would listen. We were connected, by fate or destiny or whatever, he could feel it. I knew he could feel it. Even without that I knew he wasn't evil. Derek Hale was not a monster, he was worth saving. I had believed that when I had told the Coven. I still believed that. Derek had shown me in a thousand small ways that he wasn't a monster. He was imperfect, that was for sure, but he was good. I held his gaze. Trust me, Derek. Don't trust him, don't follow him. Please. I could almost feel something like understanding pass between us, and I thought he would listen.

Then my phone rang. I glanced down toward my pocket and the connection between us shattered in an instant. I pulled my phone out, it was Stiles. _Now_ he calls me? I ended the call and looked back up at Derek again, hoping he wasn't lost away. It was too late, he had closed himself off. He was as guarded and unreadable as the first time I had ever met him. Peter had started to walk again, he had won. This time.

Derek pulled his arm free from my grasp, "Scott is in the locker room."

I stood dumbly for a moment, watching the two werewolves retreat into the darkness. Laura was gone as well, and before long I was alone again in the night. Betrayal buried itself in my chest like a jagged blade. It was an acute and inescapable pain. I reached up to wipe wetness from my cheeks, I hadn't realized I had been crying. I had failed Laura again.

I wouldn't fail Scott.

I shoved through the doors and raced to the locker room. It was dark and silent when I entered, the rows of lockers cast long shadows across the tiled floor. It smelled like sweaty teenage boys, but I tried not to think about that. I glanced around warily, suddenly not sure what I would find. Peter wanted Scott for his pack, so he wouldn't have killed him, probably. I crossed the room an found him laying on the floor of the showers, wearing only a towel.

"Scott!" I knelt beside him quickly.

He heaved out a huge sigh, "Peter is the alpha."

"I know, I ran into him outside." I bit my lip and helped him up and over to one of the benches.

"Derek is with him." Scott seemed to be saying this more to himself then to me. It was like he was trying to reconcile that fact, and what it meant.

I had been unsure if we would be able to take on the alpha with two betas and myself. Now I didn't know if there was a way to beat him, not if Derek stayed with him. It felt like a hopeless situation. Scott had been brought into my world, the supernatural world violently and against his will. One way or another his life, or whatever it would have been before was over. I was determined to make sure that he survived this, but at this point I wasn't entirely confident that I would either.

Suddenly Stiles came lurching into the room, "D-dude!" He started, "We have a huge problem."

"Trust me," Scott sighed, "We know."


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER SIX**

"So, let me get this straight," Selena frowned and paced the length of my room, "Peter is the alpha and now Derek is with Peter, and Jackson knows about werewolves and is trying to blackmail Scott into getting him the bite so he can become a werewolf?"

"And the Argents think that Jackson is the second beta." I added in a falsely cheerful tone.

"Holy shit," Selena sat down on the edge of my bed thoughtfully, "What are you going to do?"

I sighed tiredly, "Well, I put Scott and Stiles on Jackson duty. Making sure he doesn't get killed. I think they can probably handle that."

"What about Derek?"

"I don't know." I admitted, "I was almost able to convince him not to join Peter and he hasn't killed anyone yet so..."

Selena nodded, "I doubt the Coven is going to see it that way."

"Yeah, I know." I bit my lip, "I'm working on it. Right now I need to focus on figuring out who Peter is really after. All of these people must link back to the Hale fire somehow, but I need to figure out who planned it. There has to be someone who is behind it all, the person Peter blames."

"You need to figure out who that is so you know where he'll end up." Selena finished my thought for me, "Any luck with that?"

"Not even a little bit." I rubbed my eyes, "I think I might have to take a peek at the Sheriff's notes on the case."

Selena nodded, "Well, you'll get your chance soon enough. It looked like he had it all in the dining room when I came in."

I nodded, "Yeah, I'll see you at school okay?"

She stood and started for the door, "Yeah, good luck. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help."

When she had left I went to look through my mom's spell book for the hundredth time. As if there was a 'solve everything' spell that I had missed before. Or at the very least a 'vacation in Bermuda' spell. After I had flipped through all the pages I closed it and bit the inside of my cheek anxiously until I tasted blood. The truth of the matter was I had no idea what I was going to do about any of it. This was only made worse by Derek flipping sides. It was more then the just the betrayal, and more then the fact that it left us at a decided disadvantage. Before Derek had been a source of information, and a sort of go-to for the werewolf stuff. Now the boys were looking to me for all the answers. Answers of what to do about Jackson, and what we were going to do about the alpha. Answers I simply didn't have.

Jackson was a very special kind of asshole, and I figured we would have to scare him enough to get him to give up. More then that though. We'd have to scare him enough to transfer schools and flee the country. Otherwise it seemed doubtful that he would ever drop it. He had decided he wanted to be werewolf and that it was some sort of blessing. Jackson didn't bother to think of all the pitfalls and all the danger that would come with it. All the people that would be chasing him through the woods with crossbows and swords for example. I wasn't sure how to even go about scaring Jackson. That was something I would have definitely gone to Derek for. I couldn't very well do it without revealing my secret to him as well. I certainly didn't want that.

I strummed my fingers irritably on my desk before reaching to grab the picture of my mom. It had been a pretty recent one of the two of us on some trip somewhere. We looked happy. She would've known what to do. Maddy Blanchett would have taken one look at my laundry list of problems and solved them easily. Or at least that was the way I remembered her being, she hadn't brought me in on much of her supernatural life. I had been a little too young for that, but she had never seemed overwhelmed. Mom had never seemed to meet a problem she hadn't been able to solve or a person she wasn't able to save. Until the Hale fire. That was the key wasn't it? Someone killed the Hales, and they killed her too.

"Who killed you?" I whispered to the frame, but of course she didn't answer and even if she could she may not even know the answer to that particular question.

Mom might not have been able to identify her killer, but I thought I could. If I could only remember. That necklace had been a clue, and I was sure that I had seen it before. I simply couldn't manage to drag the memory to the surface. I had tried trances, meditation, everything I could think of to access it. It remained locked to me. What the hell was I going to do? I let my head drop down and with a thump against the desk. We were so very screwed.

Stiles nearly tripped over himself as he entered my room, "911 from Scott. Peter is taking his mom on a date. He's going to bite her."

"Son of a bitch..." I sighed and stood, "I assume you two have some sort of half baked scheme?"

"Yup!"

We both raced down the stairs and started for our separate cars, "You try to catch up with Peter, I'll pick up Scott!" I ordered as I got into my car and turned over the engine quickly.

I was speeding away before Stiles was able to get the Jeep up and running and was racing through the streets. I was violating an awful lot of traffic laws recently, and I hadn't been pulled over once. I was starting to get really concerned about the police force in this town, I mean, shouldn't one of them have caught me by now? All of the speed limits I'd broken and stop signs I had blatantly ignored. It really wasn't safe. Scott had already left the house and was running down the sidewalk when I caught up to him and pulled to a brief stop just long enough for him to get inside.

"You have Stiles on the phone?" I asked quickly when I saw the phone in his hand.

"Yeah, he's behind them. Turn left."

Stiles' voice came out over the speaker phone suddenly, "I see them! I got it! Employing the plan!" Then there was a loud thump and he hung up the phone.

"Did Stiles just crash the Jeep into their car?" I asked after a moment.

"Yep." Scott answered a little awkwardly, "Whatever works right?"

I laughed and shook my head, "I see them," I pulled over off the road and parked. Scott and I sat and watched the cars that were lined up behind the wreck. It had been effective, that was for damn sure. I was definitely glad that Stiles' crappy Jeep had been the vehicle of choice for that and not my car.

"He's talking to me," Scott tensed, seeming to be listening intently and I didn't need to ask who he meant, "Jackson..." he gasped, "Oh no."

"What?" I asked suddenly and then I realized apparently Peter had decided to handle the Jackson problem for us, "Oh, don't tell me. Did he happen to mention where?"

Scott shook his head, "No, but we have to do something. If Derek kills him..."

"I won't let that happen," I insisted and pulled out onto the road before starting off quickly and I pushed the pedal to the floor in the direction of the Hale house, "I know where Derek will take him."

I absolutely couldn't let this happen. Jackson was a bully and a jerk, but technically an innocent. That meant he fell under my protection. If Derek killed him it would mean two very horrible things. The first was that I had failed to protect yet another person, and it would also mean that there would be no going back for Derek. His path would be set, he would be guilty. All hope for him would be lost. I wasn't okay with either of those outcomes. Again I thought of my mom and I couldn't help but think that I was doing a really shitty job in her place. Maybe if she had survived the crash instead of me... I shook my head as if physically banishing the thought. That was a bad road to go down. I had been down that road before. No, we could do this. Somehow.

I parked on the side of the road and got out of my car again quickly, "The house is not far in that direction!" I instructed Scott as I moved around the hood of my car, "Go! I'll catch up."

Scott nodded and took off running into the dark trees. I started to run after him, but before very long he was completely out of my sight. I focused on pushing my magic into my muscles, using it to push myself faster. I wouldn't be able to go as fast as Scott, but I could definitely have won a few gold medals at this pace. I surged my power and leapt over a fallen tree without breaking my sprint toward the house. Just like when I had helped Derek get away from Kate Argent I came up to the house from behind. I didn't slow until I reached the back door and ripped it open.

I heard snarling from inside, they were already here, "Move!" Someone ordered in a voice that didn't sound quite human, but it sounded the most like Derek.

"No." Scott growled back. Yeah, that was definitely Scott.

"Fine, then I'll kill you too."

I heard all this as a stormed around the stairs, "Enough!" I lashed my magic out and it slammed Derek back against the front door, "Jackson is an asshole but he's innocent. He's under my protection."

Jackson was huddled on the stairs, cheeks wet with forgotten tears as he stared at me, "W-what... what the hell?!" He was looking at me as if trying to find where my claws and fangs were hidden, "What the hell are you?"

"Shut up Jackson..." I hissed and then an odd whistling sound in the air caught my attention.

Derek cocked his head to the side, "Cover your eyes!" He ordered and ducked half a second before there was a small explosion, not even an explosion really just a burst of light like a firecracker. There was a flash of light, but it didn't have much of an effect on me. That must mean his order had been meant for Scott. I didn't have time to think about what that meant because the shooting started immediately after the flash.

I ducked, throwing my arms up around my head as if that would provide any sort of protection against a bullet heading toward my skull. I glanced back to see Jackson scrambling toward the back door. Derek grabbed my arm and pulled me down against the wall next to him. The gunfire continued and when I looked up I saw that Scott was bleeding on the floor, no longer wolfed-out. He was clutching the bullet wound in his stomach, blood dripping down his lips.

"Scott! Go!" Derek shouted over the sound, but Scott didn't respond.

I cursed and turned toward the wall. I pressed the palm of my hand against the wall, I needed a wind. It was more difficult to conjure without being able to see where I needed it to go but I didn't have much choice. So I overcompensated, it wasn't just going to be any old wind. The house groaned in protest as it whipped up and the boards that had been nailed over windows started to shake with the force of it. It had the desired effect and he gunfire faltered, but it wouldn't last for long. I turned and found Derek pulling Scott to his feet and nearly throwing him toward the back door.

"RUN!" He ordered and turned to me, he was still in full werewolf mode, which I found pretty off putting. I honestly hadn't really seen any werewolves when they had turned up close before.

I nodded and hurried past him. I grabbed Scott's arm and kept him on his feet as we stumbled out the back door. The gunfire had started again and my wind had died down and faded away. After we had run a ways I glanced back, there was no sign of Derek. Scott collapsed into the leaves next to me before I had a chance to think too much into what Derek's absence meant. I shook my head and pulled him back to his feet with all my strength. I looped his arm over my shoulders and wrapped a hand around his waist. He wasn't healing right away, which meant it might be poisoned. I tried to push some of my magic into him to help him heal as we went. I pushed us forward as quickly as I could manage but my magic and my strength were nearly spent.

Scott wasn't a huge kid but it seemed like he weighed a ton, and before long it was mostly dead weight. My shoulders ached from supporting him and the muscles in my legs burned and trembled with the effort. Scott was managing to put one foot in front of the other, at least for the time being. When the toe of his right foot caught something we both tumbled forward into the leaves. I gasped and looked around, the trees were silent and there showed no signs of pursuit. We had gone beyond the sound of gunfire a while ago. There was still no sign of Derek.

"Scott, come on, it's not much further." I coaxed and helped him roll over onto his back, "Scott?"

He lay there, gulping for air, "Allison..." he sighed and then drifted off.

"Scott! Come on, I can't carry you." I panted and ran my hands through my hair. What a mess. If I couldn't get him up again before the hunters came... how was I supposed to fight off a bunch of people with guns? I couldn't exactly block bullets. "Scott, please."

I jerked my head up when I heard footsteps approaching, they were already here. I didn't dare hope that it was Derek, or less helpfully Jackson wandering around in the woods. It would have to be a hunter. I stood slowly, trying to stay silent and I kept my eyes peeled for movement. I was exhausted, but I might be able to muster up a little magic. A figure materialized out of the trees and I turned to face the attacker, hands raised and ready.

Dr. Deaton raised his hands in a show of peace, "It's just me Elise."

"Dr. Deaton?" I hadn't seen him since the night Derek had kidnapped him. Technically I had been an accomplice, right? Saying that I thought he had been an alpha werewolf so I didn't untie wouldn't have been the best defense in court. Shockingly my day in court had never come. I hadn't had much time to think about the fact that Dr. Deaton hadn't reported us to the police.

"Yes, I will explain in more detail later, but for now I think we need to get Scott out of here." Dr. Deaton said patiently, "I am a friend, I was a friend of Talia Hale, and your mother."

"The bullet is poisoning him," I provided as he picked Scott up.

He nodded, "I can treat the wound, he should heal all right. Meet me at the clinic."

I nodded dumbly and started for my car, at this point I would take all the help I could get. Clearly Dr. Deaton was more then just the town veterinarian. I wasn't exactly in a position to be refusing his assistance. If he was a friend of my mom then that meant he was most likely trustworthy. He hadn't ratted me out to the police at least. In fact he hadn't gone to the police at all about what happened that night. Then again, I guess he wouldn't if he knew exactly what was going on. Good, I was glad somebody around here was more informed than I was.

I was too tired to think about anything too critically on my drive. Once I had arrived at the clinic I just sat on the counter and watched him work on mending Scott. That was the most important thing, I had nearly failed again. Scott could have been killed, but that was just part of day to day life now it seemed. Dr. Deaton didn't seem bothered by my silence, he worked calmly and expertly. He definitely seemed comfortable dealing with werewolf injuries.

I slid off the counter when Scott suddenly gasped and came back into consciousness. Dr. Deaton put a hand on his shoulder gently to keep him down, "I wouldn't get up just yet." He cautioned.

"Where am I?" Scott asked groggily, looking around.

"You're fine." The doctor assured him, "And I've given you something that should... speed up the healing process."

I moved over and gripped Scott's arm, "You're safe, Scott."

Scott looked down at his wound and then at Dr. Deaton blearily, "But you're a vet."

"That's very true," Deaton replied, focus back on cleaning the wound, "and 90% of the time, I'm mostly treating cats and dogs."

"Mostly?" Scott asked, starting to become a little more alert.

"Mostly." Deaton answered vaguely and Scott let his head fall back and he closed his eyes again.

I leaned against the counter again and sighed, feeling pretty tired myself. I watched as the veterinarian continued to work on Scott's injury. The way he treated Scott, he couldn't be an enemy. Then again I guess I hadn't been the best judge of character on that front lately. However... Derek's behavior at the house didn't quite make sense. One moment he had been prepared to kill Jackson and had even threatened to kill Scott. Then again threatening to kill the boys wasn't exactly out of character for him. If he had really been willing to kill Scott then why help save him? Not only that, but he had pulled me out of the line of fire. He had shown concern for both of our well beings. Enough concern to give himself up so that we could get away. I was chewing on my thumbnail as I thought all this over. Maybe I had been right all along, maybe there was good in him. Peter was his only family left, was it such a stretch that he would want to believe him? Of course he wouldn't want to think that his only surviving relative had murdered his sister in cold blood.

Eva had told me that Derek was lost, and he definitely was. Maybe he needed help finding the right direction. If it had really come down to a showdown between us and them I wasn't sure if Derek would have been able to help kill us. That was something. The hunters would keep him alive, they would want him to name the alpha and the other beta. Maybe there was a chance... but how would I even find him? He had planned to kill Jackson, an innocent person. The whole thing was a mess, a huge, complicated mess.

Deaton looked up from his work, "How are you?"

I was surprised by the sudden question, "I'm fine, tired. Scott is heavier then he looks."

He smiled and nodded, "You did a lot to keep the poison from spreading. I doubt he would have been able to stay on his feet as long as he did without your help."

"I guess we're just lucky you showed up," I noted, "I was wiped, I wouldn't have been able to do much."

"You aren't used to that kind of exertion," Deaton noted, "With your mother it came easier with time. Your strength and your power will grow, and you'll learn how to manage and wield it more effectively."

I yawned, "I certainly hope so," I sighed and then frowned at him, "Who are you?"

"I'm a veterinarian." Deaton answered and I just smiled, okay, I could deal with vague if it meant I had another ally, "You should go home. You have my assurance that Scott will be perfectly safe here. You need to rest and regain your strength."

I hesitated, I had been wrong with who I trusted before, but Deaton felt more certain. I had watched him tend to Scott's wounds after all. It was clear that he cared about Scott, and so I found myself trusting him. I wasn't sure I had a whole lot of choice. He was right, I was dead on my feet. I would need to get rested so that I could actually deal with whatever catastrophe we found ourselves in next. I nodded and glanced at Scott again before I started out. I was honestly a little surprised I managed to stay awake for the drive home. The house was dark when I got there and I was able to sneak up to my room without waking the Sheriff. Stiles, however, had been waiting.

He came into my room only moments after I had turned on the lamp, "What the hell happened?"

I sighed wearily, "It's a long story Stiles."

He just settled into the chair and looked at me expectantly, "I love stories."

"Fine..." I sat heavily on the edge of my bed, "We went to save Jackson. Derek had taken him to the Hale house. I got there in time to stop Derek and Scott from fighting, but the hunters were also there. They started to shoot up the house, Scott got shot by a wolfsbane bullet."

"Jackson?" Stiles interjected curiously.

"He ran for it at the first sign of gunfire," I noted, "He also probably knows I'm a witch now, or at least he knows I'm not entirely human. Anyway, Derek gave himself up so that I could get Scott out of there."

"Where is Scott now?"

"He's at the clinic, Dr. Deaton found us," I shook my head, still marveling at the turn of events, "He saved Scott. He's not entirely unconnected to the supernatural realm either."

"Dr. Deaton?" Stiles blinked, "The _veterinarian_?"

I laughed at that, "One and the same, which I guess answers the question of why he never went to the cops about being kidnapped."

"Yeah..." Stiles leaned back as if taking all this in, "You think we can trust him?"

"I do," I shrugged.

Stiles nodded thoughtfully, "What about Derek? Are you thinking about trusting him again?"

"Not in so many words," I replied and rubbed my eyes, "But he did try to keep us safe tonight. He didn't have to do that. If he were really all bad and totally with Peter then he wouldn't have."

"I still vote that we don't trust him."

"It's a moot point anyway Stiles, the hunters have him now." I glanced at the clock and groaned, the sun would be rising soon, "I need to go look through the Sheriff's files before he gets up."

"No need," Stiles suddenly looked just as tired as I felt, "I got him incredibly drunk and he told me everything that was in them. Also, I'm a horrible person and the worst son ever."

I shook my head, "You're neither of those things. We needed to know, so sum it up for me."

"They all trace back to the Hale fire like you thought," Stiles rubbed a hand over his hair, "Hired arsonists, insurance agents... Mr. Harris wasn't really involved. Some girl wearing Allison's necklace got him drunk and got him to list all the best ways to burn a house down."

"Whoa..." I noted, "We need to know who that girl was. She's definitely Peter's end game."

Stiles nodded and stood, "Yeah, good night El."

"Night." I watched him go and closed the door behind him and then I changed and fell into bed. I was dead to the world before my head even hit the pillow. I didn't have any more energy to contemplate what all of it meant. If I had then I might finally have come to the conclusion that, since the killer was a woman and she was wearing the necklace that she was was someone in Allison's family. Most likely her aunt. As it turns out, I didn't need to be awake to come to this epiphany, the memory came to me in my sleep. The one I had been working so hard to retrieve.

I had been similarly exhausted from a night spent in the car, we had finally stopped for gas. It was the very gas station that Derek and I had first been formally introduced at, right after his window had been bashed in by hunters. Mom had looked pretty tired as well, her hair slipped out of the braid and her clothes wrinkled. Yet it wasn't exhaustion, but worry that lined her eyes. She hadn't told me much about why we had left. She had simply pulled me out of bed and said we had to go to Beacon Hills immediately. Mom said something terrible was about to happen and that she had to stop it.

She turned and smiled at me, "I'm hungry and I need coffee. Let's get some snacks for the rest of the drive. It isn't far to Talia's from here."

I let her put her arm around my shoulders as we walked into the gas station, "Talia? She's your old friend from college right?"

"I wouldn't call her old to her face," Mom teased, she had been light hearted despite everything. I don't think she considered that we might be in danger. She must have had a vision of the Hale's being attacked at night, it was morning so we must be safe. Mom hadn't realized that the killer already knew that Talia Hale had an alliance with a white witch, "Pick out something good, but not too sugary okay?"

I nodded and moved to peruse the shelves, in that moment I should have felt something. I should have sensed that something was wrong, but I was young and only a fledgeling with my powers. I picked out a granola bar and some juice, completely oblivious. I had never realized how precarious our life was. Mom moved every other year from town to town, I never asked why she didn't settle down. It was just the way that the Blanchett witches lived. They didn't stay stationary, they remained as unattached as possible. That meant that there were no men to speak of. That was another thing I had never really thought to ask about, it was just the way things were for us. I did know that my mom had loved my dad, but the way she talked about him it was as if she had to leave him. It was the same way with my grandma, and my great grandma, and so on and so forth as far back as we could trace our lineage. Which was pretty far through the matriarchal timeline.

It hadn't mattered to me, I had been happy. Mom always seemed to have friends wherever we went. She always made it seem fun and safe. I could only imagine now what sort of danger she had been in from time to time. There were probably a hundred moments before that one in the gas station where I could have lost her. Then again it had to be this one, our destinies were tied to the Hales after all. For better for for worse.

"Now Talia isn't expecting us, so don't expect a warm welcome," Mom told me as we paid and started back to the car, "We're going to be waking them up pretty early you know."

"I think I might remember her. She has a daughter right?"

"More then one, it's a big family." Mom agreed and smiled down at me, moving to take her own snack from the bag I was carrying.

So she didn't see what I saw, maybe she wouldn't have recognized Kate Argent even if she had. At the time I didn't know who it was, it was just a woman walking to go into the gas station the way we had come. She had blond hair and a large silver necklace hanging around her neck. It caught my eye as she walked past and I turned to look after her. It looked like she had a pair of pliers or something tucked into her back pocket, and a grease smudge on the back of her right wrist. I had no way to know what that meant.

I wouldn't know what that meant for more then six years.

...

I slept the majority of the next day to regain my strength, when I did wake up I kept myself isolated in my room with my new realization. I knew who Peter was going after, I knew his end game. Kate Argent. She was responsible for the Hale fire, for the deaths of eleven innocent people. Some had been children, at least most had been innocent enough to warrant my mom's protection. Kate Argent had murdered them. She had murdered my mother. I began to wonder if maybe I should just let Peter kill her. She lacked the claws and glowing red eyes of a monster, but she was one all the same.

No.

That wasn't justice, that wasn't what my mom would have wanted. If I didn't try to stop him then I might as well kill her myself, and I couldn't do that. I could kill a monster if I had no choice, but I had a choice here. I had an obligation to hold all life sacred, to save everyone if I could. Enough people had died already. Now that I knew who Peter was after I needed to find a way to make it work in my favor. I couldn't exactly follow her everywhere she went, she was a hunter and was very likely to catch on to that pretty quickly. I briefly considered going to Chris Argent, he was a man who believed in the code. No, that was too risky even for this situation.

The next day I went shopping with Selena, she was insisting that we both go to the dance and pretend to be normal. She could tell that something was off with me but I couldn't confide in her. I didn't want the information I had to get out there and become common knowledge. I wasn't even going to tell Scott and Stiles yet, the less people that knew the easier it would be to keep it a secret. I couldn't be sure if Peter knew that Kate was the murderer yet, and I couldn't risk it getting out until I had some semblance of a plan. Keeping the secret was surprisingly easy, coming up with a plan was proving to me much more difficult.

"You should try this, you look great in jewel tones," Selena told me, she already had several dresses picked out in her signature color: purple. She held one up in front of a mirror and admired it before spotting a dress on the rack behind her. She offered it to me, "Or white, you look great in white too."

I laughed and took the offered garment, "I would spill everything on this dress, besides," I examined it, "It's a little... matrimonial."

Selena laughed, "Please, as if you'd ever get married. The women in your family treat serious relationships like the plague. It's a miracle you even know who your grandpa was."

"That's true, lucky that we do know who he was," I hung the dress back up on the rack and picked up a blue one instead, "Otherwise there would be a distinct lack of Stiles in my life."

"Oh yes, so did Allison really get Lydia to agree to go with him to the dance?"

"Apparently," I looked across the store where Lydia was piling dresses into his arms, "I just hope she realizes how lucky she is."

"You are such a big sister, even if he is technically your cousin," Selena rolled her eyes, "But you do have a point, he's a cutie. Too bad he's also kind of... I don't think there's really a word for what he is."

I laughed, "I like the blue one. I'm going to go try it on, you coming?"

"I'll be there in a moment," Selena paused to consider a black slinky dress.

I draped my pick over my arm and walked to the nearest fitting rooms, Stiles was perched on a chair outside. He was still too excited about his date to be bored with the shopping yet. I paused while I waited for one of the rooms to open up and I considered him. My cousin, but really he was more than that. I had never wanted him to get mixed up in this world. Now he was digging up bodies and pissing off murderous alphas every night. I felt an overwhelming wave of sadness wash over me. How was I supposed to protect him? So far keeping both of the boys alive had proven to be more difficult then one would think. I ducked into a fitting room when it was abandoned and locked the door.

Now Allison was in eminent danger too. So that made Scott, Stiles, Jackson, Melissa McCall, and Kate Argent who were being directly threatened by Peter. I was somewhat more reluctantly protecting the last one but still. It was becoming a very long list. I started to change into the dress, thoughts still miles away. Maybe I could go to Dr. Deaton, he was friendly and clearly familiar with the supernatural. I still didn't know the extent of his involvement though.

I zipped up the dress and shook my head, I definitely needed to stop thinking about this around Selena. She was already suspicious that something was going on, and she definitely knew I wasn't telling her something. I needed act as normal as possible for now. Besides, the more I thought about how I had no plan the less optimistic I felt. I glanced in the mirror and sighed. I liked the dress, but I knew Selena would want to grant her seal of approval.

I opened the door and went out to look around the store for her, "Selena?"

She was nowhere in sight so I moved further into the racks, looking around for the familiar head full of black hair.

"I would say that blue is definitely your color," An all too familiar voice complimented from behind me. Creepy.

I sighed and turned, "Hello Satan."

Peter chuckled, "I really hope you'll realize that I'm not so bad. I think we would all make a great team. Scott is really impressing me with his ingenuity."

"He's a good kid, too good to be a part of your pack," I said simply, "You picked the completely wrong one to bite."I noted and crossed my arms, glaring at him, "I think you should leave, Peter, you're scaring the children."

He nodded, "We'll talk again soon."

Selena was at my side suddenly as he walked away, "That was him wasn't it?"

"Yeah."

"Well, he's definitely getting bolder." She noted grimly.

"I'm noticing that too." I bit my lip, "You find a dress? Good, let's get going."

...

I had decided on a plan, I needed to find Derek. I thought that if I could just talk to him then I could convince him to come back to our side. There really was no other option, however, all attempts at tracking him were coming up short. I couldn't get anything solid. Selena and I had tried several times, but nothing seemed to work. I assumed it was because he was either dead, or he was being tortured. If he was dead I'm sure Laura would have paid me another visit so I had hope that he was alive. Selena seemed a little more dubious about finding Derek. She wasn't as sure as I was that he would see reason, but she helped me anyway. I think she knew that we needed Derek to take down Peter. I had to find him before his uncle did, because Peter needed him just as badly as we did.

In the end I just got ready for the dance, I would have to come up with some way to find Derek afterwards. For now I needed to be there to try and keep everyone safe. Everyone from my pack was going to be there trying to keep Allison safe so I needed to be there too. It seemed very likely that Peter would try to make a move at the dance, it would be a good opportunity. It would be really difficult to keep track of everyone and he would want to take advantage of that. I was trying to stay positive.

I got ready for the dance in my room, pausing only to go see Stiles off before he went to pick Lydia up for the dance, "You look very handsome."

"Well thanks," Stiles replied smugly and straightened his suit jacket.

I laughed, "Have fun, but remember to be on the look out okay? Be safe."

"Yeah, I'll see you there."

I grabbed his shoulder to stop him from bouncing down the stairs, "You're a catch Stiles. If Lydia doesn't figure it out by the end of tonight then she's not as smart as you think she is."

Stiles grinned, "You're probably right," he agreed, "You look really pretty El."

"Thanks, now go." I released him and called after him as he disappeared down the stairs, "Make good choices!"

I smiled and shook my head as I went to finish getting ready. I was pulling on my shoes when I heard a knock at the front door. I had told Selena that I would meet her at the dance, but it would surprise me if she had decided to ignore that completely and show up. Maybe it would be nice to ride there with someone. It wasn't like either of us had dates for the event. Selena was currently 'between mistakes' as she called it and I was very obviously single. The doorbell rang after a moment.

I grabbed my bag and started downstairs, "I'm coming!" I called and checked to make sure I had charged my phone for the night, "I thought we agreed to meet at the dance..." I greeted as I opened the door.

Peter smiled, "Well, as strikingly beautiful as you look tonight Elise I have a budding relationship with Scott's mother. As you well know."

I glared, "Well, isn't this a nasty surprise."

"It hurts me to hear you say things like that," I feigned offense before moving to step into the house, "I did say that we would speak again soon."

"Do werewolves have something against using phones?" I blocked his entrance, "Showing up uninvited seems to be a common practice."

Peter didn't seem too put out that I wasn't letting him inside, "Yes, I assume Derek has paid you quite a few visits." he looked at me thoughtfully, "I don't suppose you have any idea where they are keeping him?"

"No," I answered simply.

"I believe you," Peter noted and then smiled, "I also believe you wouldn't tell me even if you did know."

"Yep." I agreed, "Now, if you don't mind I have a dance to get to."

He gave a long suffering sigh, "I know you don't believe me, but I really do want us to be friends. However, I can tell that you are not of a mind to see things my way. I can't have you putting ideas in Derek's head." Peter paused to brush some lint off of his coat, "I realized that other night that I had miscalculated. You have more influence over him then I originally thought. His feelings for you are stronger than I could have anticipated."

I frowned, "We're talking about Derek? _Derek_?"

"He was always a bit of a romantic," Peter chuckled, "To a fault really. I should have seen it. Especially considering that are you Maddy's daughter, she was the sort of woman men fell in love with too. The last thing I want to do is hurt you Elise, but I also can't let you get in the way of my plans. I hope you'll forgive me."

I reacted more quickly then he expected and I lashed out with my magic, blocking the blow he had aimed at my head. He stumbled back a few paces and I dropped my bag and threw my weight against the door to try and close it. Peter recovered quickly and easily threw the door open, which sent me stumbling back in my heels. I was not dressed for a fight right now. What an asshole! He reached for me again but I wasn't entirely unprepared. I aimed a targeted strike at his stomach that was powerful enough to knock the air from his lungs, at least for a moment. Hopefully long enough for me to find one of the Sheriff's guns. I kicked off my shoes and turned race through the dining room. I hadn't made it far when I felt a vice like grip on my arm, he jerked me to the side. I had no time to react before the side of my head hit the edge of the table, then I was unconscious.

As it turned out, being knocked out cold was extremely useful. I dreamed that I was running again, it was dusk and I was racing through the woods. Again, I couldn't tell if I was running from or toward something, either way I knew I had to move quickly. The skirt of my new dress caught on a branch and ripped but I didn't let it slow me down. My bare feet were strangely unbothered by the treacherous terrain of the forest floor. My heartbeat was a steady mantra in my head and veins. Run. Run. Run. Run.

Suddenly I stopped, it felt as if a string in my chest suddenly pulled tight and I couldn't move forward anymore. I found myself staring at some sort of secret entrance. It was a small gate-like door set in the side of the sloping ground. Everything beyond it was in darkness, but I knew I had to go in. That was where I had been going this whole time. I gripped one of the bars of the door and pulled it open, a gust of musty air blew out of the tunnel as I ducked inside. It was too dark to see so I put my hand to the wall and used it to guide me forward.

I stepped cautiously over the rough floor, my fingers trailing along the cold and uneven wall. This tunnel had been made by someone but where did it lead? I couldn't imagine the purpose of such a tunnel, it was small and roughly made but still would have taken a lot of effort. Suddenly my fingers brushed against something metallic. I felt along it, it felt like a large metal door, the type that slid to the side on a track. I found a handle and started to pull it, to my surprise it moved easily to the side. I stopped when there was a space big enough for me to go through and I went inside.

There was light in here, it came mostly from windows on the wall directly in front of me. The windows were up against the ceiling, like you would find in a basement. It smelled like a basement in here, and around me I could see shadowed objects that might have been furniture. However, I didn't take the time to find out for sure what the dark blobs were. There was a person in here. A man was strung up in front of the windowed wall, chained up off the ground and shirtless. There were wires taped to his abdomen that connected to something sitting on a nearby table. He didn't appear to be moving at all, I couldn't tell if he was breathing or not.

I found myself holding my breath as I tip-toed forward. His face was in shadow, but I felt like I knew him. I stopped when I was standing right in front of him and I looked up, finally able to make out enough of his features to know who he was. Derek. He was so still I wasn't sure if he was alive or not. Then suddenly his eyes shot open and I gasped in surprise, nearly taking a step back. We stared at one another wordlessly for a moment and for no particular reason I knew exactly where he was. He was where he always seemed to end up, he was home.

"I've got you," I assured him, the door behind me suddenly scraped open and with a jolt I was ripped away.

"Elise!"

I felt a hand on my arm, rolling me over, "Declan?" I managed blearily.

Declan helped me up, "What happened?" He was looking at my left temple with concern.

I reached up and felt blood drying on the side of my face, my fingers found the tender wound and I hissed in protest, "The alpha."

"He could have killed you." Declan noted and looked around as if expecting the alpha to still be lurking in a corner.

"You have to get to the dance," I said quickly, the moon had risen and my magic was flowing. It was definitely helping me to feel clearer already, "That's where he was going."

"What about you?" He frowned at the order

I started toward the stairs, "I have something I have to do, can you drop me off somewhere?"

It took a few minutes for me to change clothes and attempt to wash the blood off of my face. I wasn't going to be in my best shape, but I knew where Derek was and I had to act quickly. I couldn't afford to give Peter any more of a head start than he already had. I could tell that Declan wanted to argue with me, he wanted to find out exactly what I was doing. However, he also seemed to know that it wouldn't do any good to ask. I was determined to go and I couldn't have him tagging along right now. Besides, I needed to know that someone else would be at the school to help keep Stile safe. I had him drop me off on the edge of the hiking trails. I stopped to watch him leave, he turned in the direction of the school and I was satisfied with that. Declan would take care of the boys.

I didn't run this time, I was still letting my magic work on my head injury and I needed to conserve the rest. I had a feeling that tonight was going to be the night it all came to a head. This was the night we had been building up to. One way or another it was going to end. It wasn't far to the secret entrance, of course, navigating it was a bit trickier than in my vision. The gate made more noise when I opened it and I had to stop and listen for any signs that someone had heard and was coming to investigate with a very large gun. I was met with nothing but silence, until I heard a howl.

I straightened and looked out at the trees, this one was distant but too loud to be a normal wolf. Besides, we didn't have wolves here or at least not the traditional four legged kind. The howl had just died down when another one answered, this one seemed to be coming from inside the tunnel, it echoed off the walls and blew past me into the night. Someone was looking for Derek and he was answering. I wasn't sure if it was Scott or Peter that had howled first but I didn't want to wait to figure it out.

I moved quickly through the tunnel, keeping my hand on the wall again until I found the door. Fortunately it was already open so I didn't have to worry about all the noise that would make. Once inside the room it was exactly as it had been in my vision, with Derek chained up and the moonlight streaming in behind him. This time he was considerably more alive.

"Elise?"

I nodded and walked forward so that I could see him more clearly, "A few of my tracking spells came up with this house, but I thought they just weren't working."

"Well, whatever. You're here now," He turned to the shackles on his wrists, "Help me with these."

That was a bad idea, I had to talk to him first, "And after that? What will you do with your freedom?"

Derek paused and looked at me, "Really? You want to have this argument now?"

"As opposed to when you're trying to rip my throat out?" I challenged.

"I wouldn't..."

"Wouldn't you Derek?" I cut him off abruptly, "You picked his side. You know Scott will never side with him, and you definitely have to know that I can't either. That means that you're going to have to try to kill us both." I paused to let that sink in, "Now, judging by what you did the other night I don't think that's what you want."

"The people that did this need to pay," He nearly growled it and cast a glance around the destroyed basement.

"You mean Kate Argent."

Derek looked surprised, "You know it was her?"

"I remembered where I had seen the necklace before," I shrugged and crossed my arms, "She was wearing it when she tampered with the brakes on our car. I saw her that day. Our families need justice Derek, but his way is not the right way."

When he didn't respond I just continued, "You know that killing Laura wasn't an accident, it was part of his plan. He chose her for the same reason that you are so eager to believe it was an accident. He's family, the only survivor of the fire. Peter knew that Laura would hesitate to hurt him, so he had the upper hand. He knew that he could convince you to follow him, because he would be the only family you have left."

Derek had his eyes focused on the floor now, and I couldn't read his expression but I couldn't stop now. I didn't have much time, "He's your family. I get it, but there are other types of family. Ones that don't murder each other."

"Really?" He asked sharply and looked up at me again, "Would you still feel that way if you knew it was my fault?" That question was apparently rhetorical because he didn't leave time to respond, "I'm the reason she found them. I thought I was in love with her. Because of me my family is dead and because of me Peter spent six years in a coma. I'm the reason your mom died Elise."

I let the silence deepen after he was done, I thought back to Peter's comments about Derek being a romantic. It was no wonder he was so guarded. He had fallen in love and it had all been a lie. It had been part of a plot to kill his family. Derek had blamed himself all these years, I doubted he had told anyone. This explained so much. He was angry because he was angry at himself, he was punishing himself.

"Is that you think?" I asked finally and shook my head, "Derek, it wasn't your fault. She used you, how could you have known?"

He looked down again, avoiding my gaze and I sighed, "You were just another one of her victims." I shook my head, "I'm sorry you had to go through that alone."

Derek looked up suddenly, "Someone is coming."

I nodded and moved quickly into the shadows to the side of the door, I readied my magic to strike. After a few silent moments I hard the sound of faint footsteps approaching and a figure moved into the room.

"Scott?"

He turned sharply to look at me, "Elise?"

I sighed in relief and moved over, "You have impeccable timing."

Scott nodded and then frowned at me, "What happened to your head?"

"Peter paid me a visit earlier," I noted irritably and turned to start back toward the prisoner, "How was the dance?"

"Uh..." Scott shook his head, "Allison knows I'm a werewolf now..."

"Whenever you guys are done socializing..." Derek snapped and rattled his chains to make his point.

Scott frowned back toward the door, "I hear someone else coming down."

"Probably a hunter," Derek confirmed and shook his shackled hands again, Scott rolled his eyes and move quickly up, breaking open the cuff around his right wrist.

"Take him by surprise." He instructed the other werewolf shortly and we both moved back into the shadows. We ducked down into the corner just as a man I had never seen before entered the room. He was bald and goateed and I got the distinct feeling that I wouldn't like him even if we weren't currently on opposite sides of a feud. Then again, I might have been biased considering that I knew he had been torturing someone for several days. Scott and I both tensed as he passed us, but he didn't even glance our way. I guess he figured he was so well hidden down here he didn't need to worry about uninvited guests. You'd think a hunter would be more cautious, not that I'm complaining.

He switched on one of the lights in front of Derek, "Ready to have some more fun?" He asked, clearly a charmer, "To be honest, my knuckles are kind of hurting. So I brought some help," He brandished a baseball bat. I decided that he had definitely seen way too many mobster movies and I almost rolled my eyes as he finished, "But I need to warn you, I used to play in college."

He moved to swing the bat down and Derek's hand shot out and caught it, he gave the man a moment to take in what had just happened before speaking, "I brought a little help too."

We really should have taken a moment to coordinate our dramatic reveal because Scott was standing in full view when the hunter whipped his head around and I was still crouched in the shadows. How was I suddenly the lame one that didn't get a cool entrance? It didn't matter because Derek took the opportunity to knock the hunter back using his own bat. The man grunted and was tossed back to land unconscious at Scott's feet.

I moved over to look down at him curiously, "Shame, he would have made a mob boss somewhere really happy."

Scott grinned at me and then we both stepped over the fallen hunter. Derek was peeling the wiring off of his torso, he tossed it aside and turned to the other cuff, "Scott, help me with this."

"No." Smart kid, apparently he and I had the same idea.

Derek looked up sharply, "What?"

"Not until you tell me how to stop Peter." Scott said firmly and I nodded in agreement.

"You really wanna talk about this right now?" Derek snapped irritably.

Scott nodded, "He's going after Allison and her family. He's going to kill them."

"So _what_?!" The chained werewolf nearly spat it.

"Seriously?" I snapped and shook my head as he gave me a scathing look, "Do you ever listen when I speak or are you just listening to show tunes up there?" I tapped the side of my head irritably.

"So tell me how to stop him." Scott finished.

"You can't! All right? Now..." He turned and rattled the cuff angrily, "I don't know when Kate's coming back, so just me out of this right now! Get me out right now!"

Derek was shouting by the end but Scott remained composed, "Promise you'll help me."

"You want me to risk my life for your girlfriend, huh?" He demanded, "For your stupid little teenage crush that means absolutely nothing? You're not in love, Scott. You're sixteen years old. You're a child."

"That's not fair," I said defensively, although I had never been in love so I really wasn't a great judge of that.

Scott just nodded, "Maybe you're right. But I know something you don't." He stayed firm, "Peter said he didn't know what he was doing when he killed your sister, right? He lied." Scott pulled a crumpled sheet of paper from his pocket and I glimpsed the picture of the deer with the spiral as he held it up to show Derek, "Remember this? This is what brought your sister back to Beacon Hills, right?"

"Where did you get that?" Derek asked, seeming to have calmed a little which meant he was listening.

"My boss told me three weeks ago someone came into the clinic asking for a copy of this picture. Do you wanna know who it was?" Scott was definitely feeling more confident now and was gaining momentum, "Peter's nurse. They brought your sister here so that Peter could kill her and become the alpha, and that's why you're going to help me."

Derek glared but didn't seem to be giving in so I spoke up, "I see Laura, Derek." they both turned to me sharply and I sighed, crossing my arms, "She comes to me sometimes. Mostly when she wants me to help you." I swallowed, "The night you joined Peter, outside the school. Do you remember? She was there, standing beside you. She just kept begging me to save you. Save you from _him_."

He looked at me, gaze piercing as if examining my expression for any sign of deceit, "I failed Laura when I didn't save her, and again that night when I let you go with him. Please, don't let me fail her again. I can't save you this time Derek, you have to help yourself."

Derek stared at me in silence, and several breaths passed before Scott shook his head and started to turn toward the door, "Look, just say you'll help us and I'll help you unlock your other..."

As he spoke Derek reached up and warped the metal, breaking free. The broken shackle clattered to the ground uselessly and Scott turned around at the sound. Both of us watched Derek as he rubbed his freed wrist, both of us waiting for his answer. I wasn't sure what Scott was thinking, maybe he was poised to fight. I probably should have been ready to attack, Derek had betrayed us before after all but my instincts didn't tell me to be ready for a fight. Maybe I was being a fool and trusting Derek Hale again when I shouldn't, maybe Laura's faith in her brother had rubbed off on me.

I wasn't disappointed when his answer came, "I'll help you."

"Thank god!" I gave an audible sigh of relief, "I really did not want to have to kill you."

Derek frowned at me, "You're a white witch, you don't kill."

"I don't kill unless I have to, as a very last resort," I clarified, "I can kill if I have no choice and it comes to saving innocent lives. I wasn't planning on killing you though, I was just going to leave you chained up down here if you continued to behave like an ass."

Scott gave a small laugh at that and Derek just shot him a glare as he went to find his shirt and jacket, "Well, the Mystery Gang is back together." I noted positively.

They both frowned at me, "Huh?" Scott asked.

I had forgotten that they hadn't been in on my little joke, now probably wasn't the time, "Never mind."

Scott shook his head dismissively, "Are you sure you're okay? We are probably going to end up fighting Peter tonight." His gaze shifted to the wound on my temple.

I moved to arrange my hair over, "I'm fine, really. My magic is keeping me going strong. Trust me, I'll pay for it later but for now I'm good to go."

Derek finished getting dressed and he nodded, "Let's get out of here."

The guys started for the door but a flicker of movement in the corner caught my attention and I hung back to investigate. They didn't seem to notice, both eager to get out of the basement. Derek clearly had no desire to spend one more minute in his torture chamber and Scott was already on task to go keep Allison safe. They were both out the door before Laura finished walking out of the shadows. She stood in a beam of moonlight, looking at me seriously. Her gaze was always piercing and expressive and she seemed to communicate solely with her eyes most of the time. Now there was something grim and urgent about her expression.

Laura glanced down at herself and that is when I noticed the blood. She had sometimes been dirty and covered in leaves, but I hadn't seen much blood on her. Now it was blossoming out of the wounds across her body, pouring like thick black syrup onto the basement floor. I watched, heart starting to race. I had to fight the instinct to rush over and try to staunch the flow, it wouldn't do any good. She was already dead. It was too much blood, flowing so heavily that it was puddling around her feet. It oozed across the floor toward me and I had to take a step back to keep it from staining the toe of my boot. I peeled my eyes away from the gore and looked at her face again. Laura seemed to be trying to speak to me again, and for the first time she made a sound. She opened her mouth and gave a blood curdling scream.

The sound was so awful, so hopeless, that I flinched back. I had never been afraid of Laura's ghost. It wasn't her that I was afraid of now, I was afraid because I knew what she was trying to do. She was trying to warn me. Danger was near, whatever we had been building up to for weeks was happening now. Laura's scream died away and as the last vibrations of it echoed through the basement she vanished. There was no trace of her, or the puddles of blood that had been here a moment ago. I stood there, trying to calm my breathing and my heart rate. There was a faint popping sound from outside, like a gunshot or small firecracker going off. Scott! Derek!

I twisted toward the door and ran back into the tunnel, racing toward the exit at a reckless speed. I burst through the gate and moved to scramble up the hill as a gunshot rang out. I could see them right in front of the house. Derek was laying closer to me, riddled with what I could only assume where bullet and arrow holes. Scott was on the ground closest to the house with Kate and Allison standing over him. Kate raised her gun at at him and Allison made a move to stop her, only to be shoved to the ground. I had only seen Kate a few times before in passing. The first time I had been a young girl, the last I had been pretending to be a babysitter. So I knew I needed to make an impression.

"Kate Argent!" I shouted and whipped up a wind that moved with me toward her, I slowed my pace as she turned to look at me. Gun still trained on Scott. I didn't feel afraid anymore, now I was angry because she was pointing a gun at an innocent person. More importantly she was pointing that gun at one of _my_ boys. Magic thrummed through my entire body, I could almost feel myself glowing with it. It was more power than anything I had ever called forth, more than I even knew I had. Yet here it was and for now it was a strong flow. For the first time I understood why even the coven seemed to have feared my mother. The Blanchett witches were a force. Right now I was a hurricane of magic and fury.

"Scott McCall and Derek Hale have committed no crime," I declared, stopping next to Derek's body, "They are innocent, and therefore are under my protection."

"Elise?" Allison asked, looking between all of us as if trying to piece a puzzle together.

"What does that mean?" Kate asked, smirk playing across her lips.

I smiled back at her coolly, "You know exactly what that means. It means the same thing it meant six years ago. You knew the moment my mom came into town that she was here to stop you, to save them," I nodded toward the house, "So, just like then, if you want to hurt Scott you're going to have to deal with me first."

Kate considered me for a moment, "Okay." She shrugged and then turned her gun toward me.

I was much more comfortable with her gun aimed at me then at Scott, "But you don't want to do that just yet. Believe it or not, even though you are a horrible murderous bitch, I'm here to protect you."

"Is that so?" She challenged, and then as if sensing my relief that the gun was away from Scott she swiftly pointed it at him again.

"Kate!" Chris Argent decided to make an appearance, walking out of the darkness to stop a few paces away, "I know what you did. Put the gun down."

"I did what I was told to do." Kate defended herself.

"No one asked you to murder innocent people," Chris shot back, he was a man of the code after all, "There were children in that house, ones who were human. Look what you're doing now, you're holding a gun at a sixteen year old boy with no proof he spilled human blood. We go by the code: _Nous chassons ceux qui nous chassent._ "

"We hunt those who hunt us." Allison whispered to herself.

"What about Madeline Blanchett?" Chris challenged again when Kate started to grip the gun more tightly, "Killing a white witch? Maddy was bound to protect the innocent and you murdered her. She was an ally to us."

Kate just kept her gaze on Scott, finger inching toward the trigger. She was too far gone, there was no reasoning with her. Just like Peter, she might have to die to save innocent lives. To my surprise Chris pulled a gun from his holster and aimed it at his sister. A man of honor, a man of the code. My mom had been right about him after all. Kate turned and seemed just as surprised as I was to see the gun.

"Put the gun down." He ordered before firing a round that struck the tree behind her, narrowly missing her head, "Before I put you down."

After a moment of hesitation she lowered her gun and I let out a sigh of relief, one monster had been dealt with. One to go. As if on cue Peter just had to rear is big ugly, psychopathic head. The front door to the house creaked open eerily and we all turned to look at it.

"Allison, get back." Chris ordered his daughter as Kate trained her gun at the open door now. Inside was only darkness.

Scott looked at me, "Derek..."

I nodded, "I'll give him a jump start." I knelt down and placed a hand on Derek's chest, magic shot through my arm like electricity and he jerked and gave a choking gasp for air. He still had some healing to do though so I straightened and watched the door, on guard like the others.

"What is it?" Allison asked, breathing heavy.

"It's the alpha." Scott answered, he was poised for a fight.

With a low snarl a dark thing shot out from the door, it was no more then a blur as it disappeared into the trees. We all turned to follow the movement, which was probably exactly was Peter wanted. He knew he was too fast, especially out here in the open. We needed to try and limit his space, contain him somewhere. We had to cancel out his speed, I had no idea how. I doubted he would accept a polite, false, invitation to sit and talk it out in the house. I felt the air off of him as he raced past me and took Chris Argent down, the hunter wasn't dead but he was definitely on the bench for now. While we were all turned toward the fallen man Allison went down. Predictable as ever we all twisted toward her, I felt something sweep my feet out from under me and I was slammed back into the leaves.

I was left dazed and all the air had been knocked out of me. I lay there staring up at the trees, I could see stars twinkling between the branches. My head rang from hitting the ground and I only barely heard the last thud of Scott being taken to the ground. I barely registered Kate's shouting as I struggled to refill my lungs with air. I felt like I was suffocating. The sound of gunfire somewhat helped, it gave me a sharp sound to focus on. I rolled onto my side and I felt my magic flaring to life again, my breathing began to steady and my head started to clear. Derek was not far away and was still healing, but starting to try and get to his feet. I looked up and saw Allison disappearing into the house. Peter and Kate were nowhere to be seen. Damn.

I pulled myself to my feet, strength returning with every step that I took toward the house. When I entered Allison was gasping in shock and horror inside the living room. I looked in and saw Peter standing there, with Kate at his feet with her throat ripped out.

"I don't know about you Allison, but that apology didn't sound very sincere," He was saying and I moved forward quickly to stand next to her.

"She's under my protection Peter," I told him firmly, "If you were going to kill innocent people you should have killed me when you had the chance."

I raised my hands together and snapped my fingers, I drew the fire apart until I held a ball of it in each palm. I wasn't afraid to play a little dirty, and he might be traumatized enough by fire to give me an advantage. I'd take whatever I could get. Peter seemed to accept my challenge and he started forward quickly. Scott appeared at Allison's other side with a snarl, fully wolfed out for the fight. Peter stopped to look at him as Derek moved out of the shadows next to me, mutton chops and all.

"Run!" Scott ordered Allison and she was only too happy to oblige by racing toward the back door.

We attacked at once, the boys lunging from either side and I sent a fire ball flying at his chest. He ducked my spell and it fizzled out behind him as he fought off their advances. It was difficult to help with them fighting so close, I ran the risk of hitting the wrong target. I turned and kicked out a pane of the door behind him and used my magic to life the shards of glass into the air. They wouldn't kill him, but they would do some damage if I could hit him just right. Peter tossed Scott to the side and then turned to Derek, slamming him down and then sending him flying as well. The second that Derek was clear I sent my weapons flying at him, they dug into his skin sharply and he roared in protest. Peter made a move to turn toward me but Scott had regained himself and leapt onto the alpha's back.

Scott didn't last long and soon he was thrown into the corner again like a bag of garbage. Derek took him on again, landing a few solid hits before Peter threw him at Scott as he was trying to recover, knocking the younger wolf back again. I reached out and gripped the couch with my magic and I sent it flying at him. It struck him and took him to the ground. For a moment everything was still. He was down long enough that I began to wonder if I had actually managed to get a lucky hit in and had knocked him out. Then a furious growl ripped forth and the couch was suddenly sent flying in my direction. I lunged out of its path, barely getting out of the way. I watched it collide against the wall where I had just been standing and then looked up to see Peter on his feet again, features distorting into something monstrous for a moment as he turned toward me.

He lunged at me and I took half a step back before Derek came bounding over the furniture and attacked him from the side. In a few very painful looking strokes Derek was down again, showing no sign of getting up this time. I lifted the pieces of a destroyed piece of furniture to launch at Peter, jagged edges in his direction. He hit the projectiles away and growled angrily. Scott rushed him again and started trying to punch him. With each hit Peter seemed to be getting closer and closer to turning. I had a feeling we weren't doing as well as I had hoped we would be. He got a good grip on Scott and then flung him in my direction, I had to throw myself out of the way and when I looked back Scott was laying in the doorway unmoving.

I got to my feet again, ready this time. Little did Peter know, he had been giving me ideas. He was starting to get angry, he was starting to turn and I really wanted to take him out before he morphed into the beast I'd seen at the school. It was time to see how he liked being thrown around. I used my magic to grip onto his jacket, just as I had my other makeshift weapons. Once I had a firm grip I raised my hand, feeling the magic flowing from each finger like strings on a marionette. I made a shoving motion and slammed him back against the fireplace harshly. Before he had time to recover I raised my hand, guiding the magic and slamming him against the beams in the ceiling. Then I lowered my hand again and with the help of gravity sent him plummeting into the floor with a very satisfying smack. I had been working on my next move and with my other hand I had used my magic to grip the large shelf against the wall. I sent it crashing down into him so forcefully the wood splintered and the shelf crumbled into pieces against him.

I watched the pile of debris, but it didn't move. I waited one breath, then two, on the third I looked past him where Derek was laying unconscious and then at Scott in the doorway. Both seemed to be pretty out of it. Scott was the closest so I took a step toward him to try and get him back on his feet. Abruptly Peter leapt to his feet, the force of the movement sent pieces of the ruined shelf flying across the room with considerable force. One large shelf came flying at me, I raised my hands to try and stop it from striking me directly. I was only narrowly able to redirect it as it struck me on my left side where my hand had been extended. It was enough to knock me off of my feet however, and when I looked up Peter was standing in the center of the room with his back to me. He was changing.

The fabric of his coat strained and ripped as his body expanded into a huge monstrous beast. Growling filling the air, growing more and more powerful as his face lengthened into an snout. He slammed his two clawed hands into the floor and gave a thunderous roar. I scrambled to my feet and raised my arms to summon my power as the monster streaked across the room directly at me. I had definitely provoked the beast. I glimpsed his clawed hand swiping down at me, at my throat. I didn't have time for a targeted blow and just let power erupt from my chest and strike him. It knocked him back enough to keep him from slashing my throat, but his claws till made contact. Pain like fire ripped through my chest and for the force of my own magic sent me flying backward. For a moment everything was black.

Then I was in the car again.

It was a beautiful day, the day of the accident. Outside the sun was streaming down and the breeze blew pleasantly through the trees. Birds sang cheerfully, easily forgetting the sound of crunching metal grating against asphalt from moments before. I didn't forget that sound, it was still ringing in my ears. The car had flipped several times and had landed right side up on the side of the road. The windows were shattered and glass splinters were everywhere. I didn't have the strength to lift my head, all I knew was that I was in pain. Everything hurt, and I could feel myself slipping away. Then my mom grabbed my arm, I raised my eyes to see her face. She had blood dripping down her cheek from a cut and she was crying.

"You're going to be okay El," She assured me, "You're so strong, so much stronger than me. Never forget that."

I suddenly felt magic pouring into me from her touch, it was almost painful how it targeted the worst of my battered body. I could feel my body healing under its influence and I could see her growing paler, weaker. I understood that she was saving my life, and that it meant she was giving up her strength. She could have healed herself, but she was healing me instead.

"Be brave." That was the last thing she said to me before I slipped into blackness again.

I was pain. I had no name, no identity, I was made up entirely of agony. His claws had slashed deep into the left side of my chest, painting four lines over my collar bone and toward my shoulder. My magic was healing it, but I was almost completely out of magic and strength. Even as the power began to knit the flesh back together I knew it wasn't enough. I wasn't strong enough. I was weakened by the fight and I didn't have enough left. I was going to die.

Then without warning my power surged forth again, finding some other source of strength. Slowly I emerged from the waves of pain. I opened my eyes and saw the dark dilapidated ceiling above me. I could feel thick, hot blood soaking into my shirt and pooling on the floor around me. I heard only the sound of my quick, shallow breathing. My chest moved painfully up and down quickly with each painful gasp for air. Blood was everywhere. There was too much on the floor and not enough in my actual body. It was even clumping in my hair, slowly I realized that the sudden strength was originating from my hand. Derek was kneeling over me, gripping my hand tightly. My head was clear enough now to know what he had done. A white witch couldn't take power or strength from someone, but it could be offered up freely. Derek Hale had just saved my life. Did that mean we were even now?

The wounds were now shallow enough not to be fatal, it was the blood loss that would be an issue. Derek somehow managed to pick me up while keeping his grip on my hand tightly. I was too weak to lift my head so I let my cheek rest against his leather clad shoulder. I opened my eyes when I felt the fresh night air outside and it was enough to jog my senses again. What had happened to Peter? Everything seemed quiet. Derek set me carefully down on the porch steps and gripped my uninjured shoulder to steady me.

"Elise!" Stiles shouted and appeared at my side, he ripped his nice dress shirt off and pressed it against the claw marks. I winced in pain, but my only tangible thought was that he was going to be cold in just his t-shirt.

"Keep applying pressure," Derek instructed and then pulled away, his fingers slipped from mind and I felt his strength leaving me. I leaned against Stiles and watched as he walked away, toward a smoldering body in the forest ahead. Peter.

At that moment Laura walked into my line of sight and turned to look at me. This time she looked like the first time I had ever seen her, healthy and alive. She gave me an understanding look and nodded, it was a gesture of gratitude I think. Laura Hale smiled sadly at me as she faded into silver moonlight. She had been the last thing I saw before I lost consciousness, and I wouldn't see her again after that.

...

I hate hospitals. Which really shouldn't be surprising considering my past. Yet when I expressed this to my doctors, nurses, Stiles, and the Sheriff they didn't seem to grasp the point. I stayed that first night, because I had arrived unconscious. However, I refused to stay another night. Nobody seemed to be taking my refusal seriously. I had lost a lot of blood, but otherwise I wasn't too badly hurt. I would have some wicked scars on my chest, but my sprained wrist would be out of the brace soon. Besides, I was going to continue healing a faster rate of speed than the average non-magical life form. I was fine to go home, they just wanted me to stay another night for 'observation'. Nobody was even observing me, I made damn sure of that by sending Stiles and the Sheriff home. Although I knew that Stiles was camped out in the lobby near Lydia's room.

I had spent all day here, arguing with everyone that would listen about how I was fine and should be able to go home. Stiles had brought a bag of my things from home to try and make me feel better about staying. It was nice to be in my own clothes instead of a hospital gown, it would also make it much easer to sneak out. Granted, I wasn't thinking as clearly as I usually would so my plan was a little rough. That wasn't my fault. I was still weak, and the medicine was a whole other beast. I had come to the conclusion that it was my magic's fault. When I was wounded it was working around the clock to heal me, not the extreme healing I had done on the floor of the Hale house to survive. It was just speeding up the process. I think it also made it so that I built up a bit of an immunity to most pain killers.

They had run into this problem the first time I had been in the hospital too. The solution was to put me on a way above average dose of some powerful stuff. It made me a little bit scatter brained, and occasionally I would hallucinate which was interesting. Honestly that only made me more determined to get out of his hospital. I couldn't sleep here, the last time I had it had been in flames every night. At the end of the day, I was just afraid to close my eyes in a hospital.

I had waited for it to get late, when I figured it would be easier to sneak out. I had a vague idea to call a cab once I was out of the hospital. I finished putting my things into my bag and I zipped it up firmly. I had taken the get well cards but not the flowers or balloons people had left with me today. I was wearing the most passable clothes that Stiles had brought me. Though I think the little evil genius had suspected I would make a run for it because they were all basically pajamas. I just counted myself lucky that he had brought shoes.

I heard the door open and quickly dropped my bag on the floor, kicking it under the bed a little bit too earnestly because it slid straight out on the other side. The side that someone coming into my room would be able to see it. I silently cursed and turned, expecting to find a nurse or doctor there ready to chastise me for being up when I should be resting.

"What are you doing?" Derek raised an eyebrow at the bag and then moved into the room, letting the door close behind him.

I sighed heavily, "Honestly? Escaping."

"I didn't realize you were being held against your will," Derek noted, looking slightly amused.

"That's what you'd think, but if I tried to leave a whole slew of health nazis would appear and nurture me into submission," I replied.

He frowned at me, "What?"

I sighed and ran my hands through my hair, "I can't sleep here." I said seriously, "I'm afraid to. I'm afraid to close my eyes, because I don't know where I'll go or what I'll see or..." I swallowed, "What I'll feel. I just can't be here."

Derek surveyed me for a moment and then picked up my bag off the floor, "Okay, let's go."

"Okay..." I echoed, a little surprised at his willingness to help me leave the hospital.

He paused, "You look like you're about to go bed," he noted and shrugged out of his leather jacket, he offered it to me.

"Oh, yeah, the oversized leather jacket will help," I replied drily but I took it and pulled it on. I was basically drowning in leather. The shoulders were way too wide and I had to push the sleeves up if I wanted to use my hands.

"It covers up the bandages and your wrist brace at least," Derek shrugged and started for the door.

Sneaking out of a hospital was hardly the most dangerous mission we had been on together, but it felt pretty serious as we crept down the hallways. They were mostly empty, but every now and then footsteps would announce an approaching employee. Once or twice we narrowly avoided being spotted by someone by ducking around a corner or into an open door. Once we accidentally hid in an occupied room, fortunately that guy was sound asleep. He also really needed to consult someone about a solution to his snoring, it was awful.

However, it was a little bit exhausting for me. I was still recovering after all, by the time we made it to the parking lot I was dragging my feet. Derek pretended not to notice, for which I was actually grateful. I hated feeling weak and useless. He opened the door for me wordlessly and I got into his car, settling back into the seat as he went around the front to get in. Derek immediately turned up the heat once we were going.

"You cold?" I asked curiously.

He gave me a surprised look, "No, but you always seem to be."

I laughed, "True, my mom was the same way. It's mostly my hands. She always thought it as something to do with magic."

"Magic is warm?"

"Yeah," I sighed and closed my eyes for a moment, "So, how is it being an alpha?"

Derek shrugged, "I haven't had much time to see yet. I definitely feel stronger, more... dominant." He noted, "Do you think I should have let Scott kill him?"

I shifted, having trouble getting comfortable, the pain was coming back, "I don't know. I never liked the idea of Scott killing anyone, even Peter. He's just a kid. I mean, you and I basically are too but we're also already pretty damaged."

He snorted and then glanced at me, "Are you okay?"

"The meds are wearing off, I'm fine, I'll take some more when I'm home," I dismissed it.

Sneaking into the house was pretty easy, Derek didn't make a big deal of it when I gripped his arm to mount the stairs. Once we were in the room and took my bag from him and he closed the door. I didn't bother turning any lights on, just in case the Sheriff came to investigate. I got the bottle of pills out of my bag and went to the bathroom to take them. I sighed, as weird as they made me feel I definitely didn't prefer the pain. Derek was waiting patiently when I came back out. I remembered that I was wearing his jacket and slipped it off to hand back to him.

"Thanks for the brilliant disguise," I smiled, "And for springing me, it was actually kind of fun. Is that weird?"

Derek took his jacket and shrugged, "Well, you're kind of weird."

"True," I agreed and yawned.

He nodded and started toward the window, "You need your rest."

"Ah, yes, the window exit," I turned off the lamp and, "Allow me to see you out oh mighty alpha."

Derek paused with his hands on the window and he turned to face me again, expression serious, "Do you think I was wrong to kill Peter? To take the spark?"

"I don't know," I shrugged.

"What do you think, then?"

I laughed lightly, "Does it matter what I think?"

"Yeah, apparently it does," Derek replied, "I've been worrying about what you think of me since I met you. It's infuriating."

I frowned thoughtfully and shrugged, "I think you're good. I've always thought you were good."

"Because of what Laura told you?"

"No," I tucked my hair behind my ears absently, "Because you did, not in so many words but... you showed me you were."

Derek was staring at me as if he was trying to find something in my expression, "You were right, in the basement. I wouldn't have killed you."

If I were a gambler I would say that he kissed me first, but that part is a bit fuzzy. All I can really say for sure is that we kissed, and it was unexpected. It was unexpected in that it was surprisingly soft. Derek Hale, with all of his rough edges and attitude, he was so... gentle. Then again I had just left the hospital after nearly dying so that was probably a factor. When he pulled back he looked at me again for a moment, expression unreadable. Then he turned and climbed out the window, closing it behind him as he went.

I sank down onto my bed and reached up to touch my lips, as if some evidence of what had just happened would still be there. It seemed so surreal. I had kissed Derek Hale or he had kissed me, not that it mattered who did the initial kissing. I was too tired to make sense of it, but one thing was for sure. All of my fears of nightmares were gone and I fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.


End file.
